When cancer has been diagnosed the next important step is for Doctors to find out whether the cancer has metastasised, or spread from its original site to somewhere else.

New research is focusing on what causes the spread and the results are giving new hope to improving prognosis and treatment of the disease.

Exosomes are microscopic “bubbles” which break off from cancer cells. They are full of proteins and genetic messenger molecules.

The more exosomes a tumour produces, the more quickly cancer can spread.

So scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College, are concentrating on these and are getting positive results, making this a significant breakthrough in the future of treating cancer.

Read the full article:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/3640cd3e-e0f0-11e1-8d0f-00144feab49a.html#axzz23VxCtgs7

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Recently the results from a long-term cardiovascular study were presented and the findings were very interesting.

Researchers in Denmark documented the health of approximately 20,000 adults living in Copenhagen and discovered that jogging regularly, may increase your life by up to 6 years.

The study started in 1976 and found that men jogging as little as 60 minutes a week outlived other men who didn’t by an average 6.2 years, while women averaged 5.6 years.

It also showed that you don’t have to pound the pavements either, a slow to average pace in enough to make a difference.

The health benefits of jogging have long been argued by experts, but this study conclusively proves that you don’t have to put very much effort into keeping healthy to derive the benefits to your lifespan.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9243398/Jogging-adds-five-years-or-more-to-life.html

As we get older our brains are subject to increasing damage from oxidation and inflammation, which results in a decline in our cognitive abilities.

Research done in the US suggests that eating berries could be a strong weapon in the fight against memory decline, particularly in older women.

The study, published by the Annals of Neurology, reported that a high intake of strawberries and blueberries seemed to delay cognitive impairment by as much as two and half years, when compared with those eating lower amounts.

It is the flavanoids and anthocyanins that are in these berries which have the benefits to help reduce memory decline.

The conclusion was that eating two or more servings a week could be sufficient to reduce memory loss brought about by ageing.

This seems to be an easy addition to our diets, which I’m sure most people would be happy about, especially when the benefits shouldn’t be ignored.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/truthaboutfood/young/berries.shtml

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• Eating more berries may reduce cognitive decline in the elderly(sciencedaily.com)

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Circulation is a problem for many people: but there are some simple, and natural, ways to deal with poor circulation for many people.

Circulation is so important for health because the blood takes nutrients to every cell in the body, and removes the waste products which are produced. So by optimizing the circulation we really do maximize our health and our energy levels.

Herbs are just one way to boost our circulation and can be used in addition to a healthy diet and good exercise levels.

The herbs I think are best are:

The Heart and Circulation Programme
http://www.shs100.com/acatalog/90-day_Heart_and_Circulation_Programme.html

Cayenne Pepper
http://www.shs100.com/acatalog/cayenne-capsules.html

Ginkgo Capsules or Drops
http://shs100.com/acatalog/Ginkgo_Capsules.html

Free Circulation Report

Here is a great Free 50 page circulation report – improve your circulation naturally:

http://stunninghealth.com/circulation-boost-squeeze

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• How does the circulatory system work? (greenanswers.com)

Glycation is the combination of sugar with protein to form a tarry mess of non-functional tissue. This happens as we age, and certain things can cause it to happen more.

Glycation is responsible for the wrinkling of our skin, which looks bad: but worse than that, it means the glycation is also happening within. Inner “wrinkling” causes organs which need to be flexible, to malfunction. The organs which most need to be flexible get the most problems – the heart, brain, kidneys and eyes.

The two main factors causing glycation are;

1. High blood sugar levels

2. Eating fried, roast and barbecued foods – even grilling uses a high temperature so, although better than frying, it is still not too good.

Glycation caused by high sugar levels explain why diabetics get problems with those “flexible” organs mentioned above. The high sugar levels in a diabetic’s blood causes these organs to harden up earlier than they would in natural old age.

Foods cooked at a high temperature – and especially if browned – create massive inputs of glycated tissue into the body, and cause more once inside. So, poaching, simmering and casseroling are all preferable.

Read more here:

http://livingto150.com/aging-and-longevity-glycation/

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Obesity is responsible for generalized inflammation in the population, a recent study confirms.

Generalized inflammation, also called asymptomatic inflammation (because you can measure it in the blood, but it doesn’t necessarily cause pain or discomfort) is closely correlated in many studies with serious disease. For example, it correlates closely with both cancer and heart disease. In fact, inflammation correlates more closely with heart disease than do LDL cholesterol levels.

As we age, generalized inflammation tends to increase, as measured by the presence of inflammatory markers such as c-reactive protein (CRP) and many other blood factors. This is one factor that makes us more likely to develop degenerative diseases as we age.

But this study showed that a larger waist circumference caused a greater rise in inflammation than a smaller waist size.

Just another reason to get that weight down.

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This report advances the view that atherosclerosis has a significant auto-immune component (the body is “attacking itself”) in the same way as AIDS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Cancer, Crohn’s Disease, Diabetes type 1 – youth type, etc do.

This is very different from the current view – discredited in my view, that:

* Atherosclerosis is mainly due simply to raised LDL cholesterol

* Statins are needed to lower it

* It needs to be at a level of 5.2

This is just too simplistic. As well as making tons of money for drug companies (by co-incidence!)

The report says that the immune system is stimulated to attack **oxidised** LDL (how does it get oxidised? Not sure – watch this space).

I have heard this theory of the problem of oxidized LDL being the problematic cholesterol before. Of course, doctors don’t know about this refinement of the theory, generally, let alone how to measure or treat it.

This fits in with other strong views (e.g. Dr Malcolm Kendrick, Uffe Ravnskov), that (asymptomatic) inflammation and stress are the two factors most closely associated with atherosclerosis – rather than simply looking at the raw level of total LDL.

Inflammation and stress will certainly be closely associated with auto-immune disease in general, I am sure. So it’s all tying in with that theory and against the use of statins, which is near to a crime in my view in the majority of cases. (Though no doubt a sensible choice in a tiny minority of cases.)

Related articles

• Immune therapies: The next frontier in battle against atherosclerosis (medicalxpress.com)

Fruit flies lend themselves to valuable medical research, not least because a surprisingly high proportion of their genes exist also in the human genome. In other words genetically, we are very like fruit flies.

As they age, fruit flies show loss of memory in a similar way to aging humans. This can be easily tested. In this study the scientists identified the neurons (nerve cells) causing the loss of memory through a process called: “functional cellular imaging”. The surprise result of the study was that simple stimulation of these neurons reversed the aging.

Ron Davis, the chair of the Department of Neuroscience at Scripps, Florida, said: “We are able to peer down into the fly brain and see changes… that appear to reflect how intermediate-term memory is encoded in these neurons.”

The memories stored in the neurons were successfully restored by simple microscopic-level stimulation by either heat or cold; both worked.

This research has massive implications for the treatment of memory loss in humans which is associated with aging. Bearing in mind the backdrop of nanotechnology (which is developing at pace), genetics (the cost of which is plummeting) and computerization (the power of which is continuing to double every 18 months) research such as this can be leveraged to produce good results for humans – probably within the decade.

Science Daily article:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120402185349.htm

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• Scientists Shed Light On Age-Related Memory Loss And Possible Treatments (medicalnewstoday.com)

Nanotechnology is the controlled use of tiny, molecule-sized particles. In medicine these have massive potential.

In this study these tiny particles were used to cause a rat to regrow blood vessels to supply a damaged leg in just 7 days.

Now, it’s not very nice to think of a rat being purposefully harmed to enable such a demonstration; but, nevertheless, if I or a relative had severe blood deficiency to an area I’d be pleased this research had been done.

I am thinking here of the poor leg circulation which afflicts diabetics: or even the effects on the brain of a stroke, through reducing circulation, or the consequence of a non-fatal heart attack.

An interesting quote from James Lewis, a PhD with experience in the nanotechnology area is illuminating. He says:

“Mammalian cells are very complex mechanisms, and several decades of experience with biotechnology have demonstrated that newly discovered molecules expected to do great things often underperform expectations because changing a cell requires several molecules working together. Nanoparticles have the potential to be complex enough to accomplish what single molecules cannot.”

There is no doubt that nanotechnology will perform a more and more important role in healthcare in coming decades. Cures which are unthinkable now will be commonplace – thanks to our cutting-edge skills in harnessing these tiny particles.

Article at the website of the Foresight Institute, nanotechnology experts:

http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=5060

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Stem cells have been used to treat a Yorkshire man, in the first operation of its kind outside the United States.

The man, 34, suffers from an inherited ailment called Stargardt’s disease which causes degeneration of the eye. During the operation 50,000 retinal eye cells were injected into one eye. The Lancet medical journal has published a paper about two US patients who underwent similar surgery with encouraging results. These patients who had the disease at an advanced stage, saw modest though significant improvements in vision. The long term aim would be to treat patients much earlier and so prevent the degeneration or slow it markedly.

The operation was carried out at Moorfields Hospital in London, a leading eye surgery hospital.

This treatment is not being proposed as a “cure for all blindness”, but is yet another step forward in the use of stem cells to produce significant, and potentially massive, health benefits.

Story from the BBC web site:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-16693343

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A Californian company has developed a “wearable robot” which can replace a wheelchair for those paralysed below the waist, but whose arms are OK. The machine is based on ten years of bionics research for the military. The same technology allows soldiers to carry heavy loads over long distances by attaching intelligent, motorised leg-braces.

The robot suit includes four motors, one at each hip and knee, and “smart crutches” which allow the wearer to control leg movements with arm gestures. A computer uses an algorithm to calculate where to put the next step. The current model has a battery which will power the device for up to four hours.

Over the past year 100 people with spinal injuries have taken part in helping develop and refine the machine for Ekso Bionics, Berkeley, California. Ekso also have an office in Canary Wharf, London and nearly have the approval to distribute to the EU market.

The first model has been delivered to a hospital in Denver, Colorado.

Lighter, and even more accurate machines are planned to make getting around for some less able people much more attainable.

Ekso web site:

http://www.eksobionics.com/ekso

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When the first heart transplant was carried out it was a startling event. But fantastic as it was, the poor patient had to exist on immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life. Okay, he was still alive; but his immune system was severely compromised, making it difficult for him to cope with any infections.

In the meantime, more and more body parts have been produced using a patient’s own tissue, thus negating the need for immunosuppressant drugs.

Several wind pipes are now being grown from scratch and transplanted into patients using their own stem cells. These have produced dramatic improvements in health without any need for drugs to suppress the immune system. Similarly, the bladder and urethra have been grown using stem cells and transplanted into patient successfully.

Aubrey De Grey, anti-ageing specialist, recently commented: “We are seeing the emergence of a new area of medicine where the diseases of ageing can be blocked or even reversed. These therapies are mostly in research now but eventually they will be commonplace.”

Even a decade ago, these procedures were regarded as on the very margins of research. They are now rapidly becoming mainstream. Regenerating more complex organs is going to take longer – but they will be developed, it’s just a matter of time.

Hearts, kidneys and livers will be able to be grown, sooner than we think. And knees and hips will be regrown by using stem cell therapy. Even clinical trials for regeneration of spinal cells are under way.

These are exciting times for regenerative medicine, and its benefits will be with us at an ever-increasing rate.

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• American Receives Stem-Cell Built Trachea In Sweden (pinkbananaworld.com)

It is illuminating to think back to the 1920’s when very many were still dying from the effects of bacterial infections – tuberculosis, syphilis, gonorrhoea, blood poisoning.

If you had told people back then that these diseases would be virtually wiped out within a decade, you would have been greeted with ridicule. But, penicillin was discovered – and they were wiped out.

James Watson is one of the giants of 20th century biology. Along with Francis Crick, he predicted accurately the structure of DNA to be a double helix.

Well, Watson is still active in research at the age of 83. His interesting prediction is that the back of most cancers will be broken within 5 to 10 years.

There is still a lot of fear around cancer. But just think that most cancers could, according to Watson, be curable by 2022.

The thing is, there are pathways through which cancer is able to multiply itself indefinitely – at least, it can now. But once these are found, then blocking these pathways will clobber any cancer easily.

Today, it’s hard to accept that. But it was equally hard for people in the 1920’s to imagine the effects of penicillin on bugs which had been killing a large proportion of the population for generations.

Hard as it is to accept, cancer is now on the run.

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• The high school student who devised a cure for cancer | Mail Online (madworldz.wordpress.com)

In world first, a baby boy in London was saved from death due to a virus affecting his liver, by having donor liver cells injected into his abdomen. These injected cells were able to perform many of the functions his stressed liver could not, enabling him to live long enough for his body to fight off the infection.

The liver cells were treated with an extract from algae to delay the body’s immune system in attacking the cells. After two weeks his own liver had started its recovery, and begun to resume its usual activity. Six months later his liver function was normal. Previously, the poor lad was on dialysis treatment and had to breathe with the help of a machine.

This is an incredible achievement and no doubt more trials are planned to try to extend this treatment method to other similar situations.

The alternative treatment – a transplant – would have been a very much less attractive option. This choice was less invasive, enabled near enough complete recovery, and did not rely on the hope that a liver donor was available.

Potentially, a huge step forward.

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The Black Death, which swept through London in the 14^th century, killed around 40% of the population. That was some epidemic.

In an effort to understand microbial development and behaviour, with a view to helping us to deal with future infections, the science of paleomicrobiology has developed: the piecing together of genetic evidence from centuries ago.

It is interesting to paleomicrobiologists just why the Black Death was so very virulent. The ability to sequence of the genome – to know the precise composition of a human individual’s DNA from end to end – has made the task of finding out this information much more possible. The ability for paleomicrobiologists and historians to work together will deepen our understanding of the migrating activity of microbes and the progress of pandemics. This can only help us to spot them early and to be able to deal with them.

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Stem Cell (Wikipedia Image)

Embryonic stem cells are to be used to treat blindness in the first trial of its kind outside the United States. The trial, taking place at Moorfields Hospital in London, will treat sufferers from a disease causing blindness at a relatively young age – Stargardt’s disease. The findings from the trial will have wider application, however, including age-related macular degeneration.

The American company Advanced Cell Technology will be running the trial at Moorfields. ACT is also running a trial in its home city of Massachusetts, and says that this placement of the trial in the UK confirms the U.K.’s place as the leading country in Europe for stem cell development.

Moorfields Hospital are also developing their own stem cell treatment for macular degeneration using different methodology. All these studies being run will produce information which will help the others.

This new study will proceed slowly, treating perhaps a dozen patients over 1 to 2 years.

This trial of the stem cell treatment for blindness holds huge help for those who sight is threatened now, or will be in the future.

Related articles

• Stem Cells in Ophthalmology Update 10: ACT Expands Trials for Embryonic Stem Cells for Stargardt’s to the UK (irvaronsjournal.blogspot.com)
• Trial begins into stem cell treatment for sight loss (telegraph.co.uk)
• Embryonic Stem Cell Treatment in Europe Begins to Improve, Halt or Reverse Blindness From Macular Dystrophy (ducknetweb.blogspot.com)

New Arthritis Drug Offers Hope (Wikipedia Image)

New potential benefits for arthritis from an existing osteoporosis drug have been identified following a study carried out on mice. The drug was shown to thicken cartilage by over 30% – a good first result.

This new use for it was identified by US researchers, working with mice. There is no evidence as yet that the same thing will happen in humans.

Cartilage erosion is one of the big problems with osteoarthritis so being able to build it would be valuable, if it was true. This is what supplements such as shark cartilage and glucosamine sulphate aim to do.

Drug treatment is bound to entail the risk of side-effects, as usual. But if a mechanism has been identified which promotes the regrowth cartilage this might inform the production of other treatments in the future. And if you found no help from more natural supplements, it would be one more avenue to consider if the initial results are confirmed to work in humans.

The drug is called Forsteo in the UK (generic name teriparatide), and works by influencing the hormone system which creates cartilage.

Drug companies are often looking to extend the existing uses of drug into other areas. Discovering a new use for an existing drug is always cheaper than starting from scratch.

The drug costs around £10 ($16) a day, but compared to the cost of joint replacement that is cheap.

This is the first drug treatment which has shown potential benefits for the cartilage in the joint. Currently, the standard – pre-joint-replacement treatment for severe arthritis is the use of steroid drugs which are intended just to mask the pain.

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Trial Of Heart Attack Stem Cell Treatment (Wikipedia)

Stem cells are being tested to improve the success rate of certain heart attack treatments.

If a blocked artery causes a heart attack, a common treatment is to insert a stent – a hollow tube – into the artery to re-enable the blood flow. The problem is that the insertion of the stent can cause tissue damage. By introducing large numbers of stem cells to the area at the same time it is expected that the healing process will be faster and better.

The difference with this trial is that when the stem cells are needed there is no time to grow the patient’s own stem cells – to avoid rejection by the immune system. Australian company Mesoblast has overcome that problem by growing a specific kind of stem cell found in bone marrow which does not trigger an immune response. In other words, they can be introduced into anyone’s body without fear of rejection.

These stem cells are also not embryonic stem cells which have caused controversy in the past. They are capable of being grown en masse and kept in storage for when they are needed.

The study will involve 225 patients who have suffered severe heart attacks in the UK, Netherlands and Belgium. Initial results are expected after 12 months. There appears to be a very good chance that this use of the specialised stem cells will significantly improve the recovery from the operation as well as the survival rate.

Related articles

• Europe Gives Mesoblast Approval for Clinical Trials of “Off the Shelf” Stem Cell Treatments for Major Heart Attack Victims (ducknetweb.blogspot.com)
• Stem cell trial for heart failure approved (telegraph.co.uk)
• Mesoblast Receives Clearance To Begin First European Trial Of Allogeneic Or ‘Off-The-Shelf’ Stem Cell Treatment For Heart Attacks (medicalnewstoday.com)

Cost of Genome Sequencing Plunges (dullhunk, Flickr)

Genetic testing – sequencing the genome – will be used more and more for individuals – and health services – as the price comes down. The cost is now around $10,000, down from $100,000 only two years ago.  In a very few years the cost will be hundreds of dollars.

But what will we be able to use genetic testing for? Here are three areas.

Cancer

Knowing the genetic cause of a person’s cancer will become more and crucial to treatment. Already, research is being put into ‘smart drugs’ which work only when certain genetic mutations are present. This will make cancer treatment much more focused.

Infectious Diseases

Knowing the exact genome of a bacterium – such as MRSA – will enable treatment and prevention to be much more targeted. The sources of infections will be easier to find and deal with: and treatments will be more readily available, and more accurate.

Screening

Each year, hundreds of people die suddenly and prematurely from a variety of ailments including sudden heart attacks. Genetic screening will be able to identify those at risk, and preventive measures – of lifestyle and, perhaps, drugs – recommended.

In, five years, certainly, these measures will become commonplace in the Western world, as the cost of genetic testing continues to fall rapidly. More applications will be found, no doubt, for the insights genetic screening provides.

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Image via Wikipedia

In 2008, a woman in Italy with a windpipe ravaged by tuberculosis received a windpipe transplant. A donor windpipe was stripped of all cells, leaving just the cartilaginous framework, then the woman’s own stem cells were introduced to produce a complete windpipe.

The transplant was a success.

Then, in 2010, a child with a congenitally narrowed windpipe had the donor cartilage transplanted into his body along with a cocktail of growth factors plus his own stem cells. When it had grown, the new windpipe was swapped for the old one – and the child, at last, could breath properly.

Synthetic Windpipe

Now, in a further development, the donor is no longer needed. A completely synthetic windpipe has been grown at University College, London, exactly the same shape and size as a patient’s own, and seeded with stem cells. The whole growth process took around a week. The completely synthetic windpipe was then transplanted into the patient.

Being synthetic, no donor is needed and so the risk of rejection – a big problem with donor transplants – is zero. Because of this rejection problem a patient with a donated organ has to have their immune system heavily suppressed, increasing the chance of an life-threatening infection taking hold. In other words, with a synthetic transplant plus their own stem cells, patients will simply live longer.

A Massive Medical Breakthrough

This is a huge breakthrough. It is now only a matter of time before a large number of body parts will be able to be produced on request.

Does this seem just a little grotesque? In a sense, perhaps. But if you needed a replacement organ in a hurry I know most of us would be pleased one could be made this way.

Related articles

• Man Gets Windpipe Made From Stem Cells (abcnews.go.com)
• First transplant of a fully synthetic organ carried out (telegraph.co.uk)