Infants Exposed to Specific Molds Have Higher Asthma Risk

ScienceDaily (Aug. 2, 2012) — In the United States, one in 10 children suffers from asthma but the potential environmental factors contributing to the disease are not well known. Cincinnati-based researchers now report new evidence that exposure to three types of mold during infancy may have a direct link to asthma development during childhood.

Journal Reference:

1. Tiina Reponen, James Lockey, David I. Bernstein, Stephen J. Vesper, Linda Levin, Gurjit K. Khurana Hershey, Shu Zheng, Patrick Ryan, Sergey A. Grinshpun, Manuel Villareal, Grace LeMasters. Infant origins of childhood asthma associated with specific molds. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2012; DOI:10.1016/j.jaci.2012.05.030

HIV-Infected T Cells Help Transport the Virus Throughout the Body

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2012) — A new study has discovered one more way the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exploits the immune system. Not only does HIV infect and destroy CD4-positive helper T cells -- which normally direct and support the infection-fighting activities of other immune cells -- the virus also appears to use those cells to travel through the body and infect other CD4 T cells. The study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators, which will appear in the journal Nature and has received advance online release, is the first to visualize the behavior of HIV-infected human T cells within a lymph node of a live animal, using a recently developed "humanized" mouse model of HIV infection.

• HIV disseminates in the body of an infected individual by 'hitching a ride' on the T cells it infects: Infected T cells continue doing what they usually do, migrating within and between tissues such as lymph nodes, and in doing so they carry HIV to remote locations that free virus could not reach as easily. 
• When HIV is introduced into blood or tissues, the virus binds to CD4 molecules on the surface of helper T cells, injecting its contents into cells and setting off a process that leads to the assembly and release of new virus particles.早期以為是病毒隨體液/血液傳播
• lymph nodes -- known to be important sites of HIV replication 
• the researchers injected the animals with HIV engineered to express green fluorescent protein (GFP), allowing them to track the movement of infected cells within living animals using a method called intravital microscopy. 

T cell

T cells or T lymphocytes belong to a group of white blood cells known aslymphocytes, and play a central role in cell-mediated immunity. 
T helper cell (T_H cells) assist other white blood cells in immunologic processes, including maturation of B cells into plasma cellsand memory B cells, and activation of cytotoxic T cells and macrophages. These cells are also known as CD4⁺ T cells because they express the CD4 protein on their surface.

Journal Reference:

1. Thomas T. Murooka, Maud Deruaz, Francesco Marangoni, Vladimir D. Vrbanac, Edward Seung, Ulrich H. von Andrian, Andrew M. Tager, Andrew D. Luster, Thorsten R. Mempel.HIV-infected T cells are migratory vehicles for viral dissemination. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11398

Peptide Controls Blood Sugar in People With Congenital Hyperinsulinism, Pilot Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2012) — A pilot study in adolescents and adults has found that an investigational drug shows promise as the first potential medical treatment for children with the severest type of congenital hyperinsulinism, a rare but potentially devastating disease in which gene mutations cause insulin levels to become dangerously high.




congenital hyperinsulinism

• There is currently no effective medicine for children with the most common and most severe form of hyperinsulinism, 
• this investigational drug, a peptide called exendin-(9-39), controls blood sugar levels in people, a very promising result. 

Journal Reference:

1. Diva D. De Leon. The GLP-1 Receptor Antagonist Exendin-(9-39) Elevates Blood Fasting Glucose Levels in Congenital Hyperinsulinism due to Inactivating Mutations in the ATP-sensitive Potassium Channel.Diabetes, October 2012 DOI: 10.2337/db12-0166

Coffee May Help Some Parkinson's Disease Movement Symptoms, Research Suggests

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2012) — While drinking coffee with caffeine each day does not appear to reduce sleepiness among people with Parkinson's disease, it may have a benefit in controlling movement, according to new research published in the August 1, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

• For the study, 61 people with Parkinson's disease who showed symptoms of daytime sleepiness and some motor symptoms were given either a placebo pill or a pill with 100 milligrams of caffeine two times a day for three weeks, then 200 milligrams twice a day for three weeks, which was the equivalent of between two and four cups of coffee per day. 
• After six weeks, the half that took the caffeine supplements averaged a five-point improvement in Parkinson's severity ratings compared to those who didn't consume caffeine. 
• The study authors noted that the length of the study was short and that the effects of caffeine may lessen over time

帕金森氏症（英语：Parkinson's Disease），或譯巴金森氏病，中国大陆譯作帕金森病，台湾譯作帕金森氏症， 港澳譯作柏金遜症，是一種慢性的中樞神經系統退化性失調，它會損害患者的动作技能、語言能力以及其他功能。它的病因目前仍不明，推測和大腦底部基底核（basal ganglia）以及黑質（substantial nigra）腦細胞快速退化，無法製造足夠的神經引導物質多巴胺（Dopamine）和膽鹼作用增強有關。腦內需要多巴胺來指揮肌肉的活動；缺乏足夠的多巴胺就產生各種活動障礙。 

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided byAmerican Academy of Neurology (AAN).

Artificial Butter Flavoring Ingredient Linked to Key Alzheimer's Disease Process

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2012) — A new study raises concern about chronic exposure of workers in industry to a food flavoring ingredient used to produce the distinctive buttery flavor and aroma of microwave popcorn, margarines, snack foods, candy, baked goods, pet foods and other products. It found evidence that the ingredient, diacetyl (DA), intensifies the damaging effects of an abnormal brain protein linked to Alzheimer's disease.

• DA gives microwave popcorn its distinctive buttery taste and aroma. DA also forms naturally in fermented beverages such as beer, and gives some chardonnay wines a buttery taste. 
• DA has an architecture similar to a substance that makes beta-amyloid proteins clump together in the brain -- clumping being a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. 
• DA did increase the level of beta-amyloid clumping. 

維基百科/阿兹海默病：

阿茲海默病（英语：Alzheimer's disease，簡稱AD），或稱腦退化症（舊譯為阿尔茨海默病、老人失智症／老年痴呆症，英语：Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type，簡稱SDAT），是一种持续性神经功能障碍，也是失智症中最普遍的成因。

Journal Reference:

1. Swati S. More, Ashish P. Vartak, Robert Vince. The Butter Flavorant, Diacetyl, Exacerbates β-Amyloid Cytotoxicity. Chemical Research in Toxicology, 2012; : 120706140246003 DOI: 10.1021/tx3001016

Molecular Switch Identified That Controls Key Cellular Process: Gives Insight Into Cancer

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2012) — The body has a built-in system known as autophagy, or 'self-eating,' that controls how cells live or die. Deregulation of autophagy is linked to the development of human diseases, including neural degeneration and cancer.

• 研究團隊discovered a critical molecular switch that regulates autophagy. They also studied the links between autophagy and a cellular process called senescence that stops cell growth permanently. 
• ASPP2, a tumor suppressor, as a molecular switch that can dictate the ability of a common cancer gene, known as the RAS oncogene, to either stop or promote senescence. 
• We found that in the presence of the common cancer-causing RAS oncogene, ASPP2 interacted with a protein complex that is responsible for deciding cell fate via autophagy. [oncogene: A gene that in certain circumstances can transform a cell into a tumor cell]
• Some of the recently developed anti-cancer drugs are potent inducers of autophagy. The new findings may also offer an explanation as to why patient response to these drugs can vary dramatically. 

Journal Reference:

1. Y. Wang, X. D. Wang, E. Lapi, A. Sullivan, W. Jia, Y.-W. He, I. Ratnayaka, S. Zhong, R. D. Goldin, C. G. Goemans, A. M. Tolkovsky, X. Lu. Autophagic activity dictates the cellular response to oncogenic RAS. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI:10.1073/pnas.1120193109

Drug Combo Better for Common Type of Metastatic Breast Cancer, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2012) — Postmenopausal women with the most common type of metastatic breast cancer now have a new treatment option that lengthens their lives, according a study led by UC Irvine oncologist Dr. Rita Mehta and conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group. The findings appear in the Aug. 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.




Postmenopausal - menopause 更年期 - men·stru·a·tion 月經

See Also: 這個網頁提供的tags可作為分類/tagging的參考。

Health & Medicine

• Breast Cancer
• Cancer
• Women's Health
• Colon Cancer
• Breastfeeding
• Lung Cancer

Reference

• Hormone replacement therapy
• Metastasis
• Menopause
• Breast cancer

Journal Reference:

1. Rita S. Mehta, William E. Barlow, Kathy S. Albain, Ted A. Vandenberg, Shaker R. Dakhil, Nagendra R. Tirumali, Danika L. Lew, Daniel F. Hayes, Julie R. Gralow, Robert B. Livingston, Gabriel N. Hortobagyi. Combination Anastrozole and Fulvestrant in Metastatic Breast Cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 2012; 367 (5): 435 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1201622

First Indication of People Naturally Protected Against Rabies Found in Remote Amazonian Communities Regularly Exposed to Vampire Bats

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2012) — Challenging conventional wisdom that rabies infections are 100 percent fatal unless immediately treated, scientists studying remote populations in the Peruvian Amazon at risk of rabies from vampire bats found 11 percent of those tested showed protection against the disease, with only one person reporting a prior rabies vaccination. Ten percent appear to have survived exposure to the virus without any medical intervention. The findings from investigators at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were published August 2in the August 2012 issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

• The overwhelming majority of rabies exposures that proceed to infections are fatal. 
• Rabies experts estimate the disease kills 55,000 people each year in Africa and Asia alone, and appears to be on the rise in China, the former Soviet Republics, southern Africa, and Central and South America. /美國每年仍有一例。
• In general, people who believe they may have been exposed to rabies are advised to immediately seek treatment which involves post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) -- a series of injections -- to prevent the exposure from causing an active infection. PEP能100%有效抑制發病。
• vampire bats -- the most common "natural reservoir" for the disease in Latin America 
• "We all still agree that nearly everyone who is found to be experiencing clinical symptoms of rabies dies," Gilbert said. "But we may be missing cases from isolated high-risk areas where people are exposed to rabies virus and, for whatever reason, they don't develop disease." 所有經歷臨床症狀的人都死了。但無可否認，高危險群裡有人並未發病。
• The vampire bats can use their extremely sharp teeth and the anticoagulant that naturally occurs in their saliva (appropriately referred to as "draculin") to feed on a sleeping person without awakening them.
• if it turns out there are distinct populations of people with "complete or relative resistance to rabies," there could be the potential to use whole genome sequencing to help develop new, life-saving treatments for rabies infections. 

rabies: 狂犬病：是無救的病？untreatable infectious diseases
populations in the Peruvian Amazon
anticoagulant - saliva - "draculin"

Vaccine Research Shows Vigilance Needed Against Evolution of More-Virulent Malaria

ScienceDaily (July 31, 2012) — Malaria parasites evolving in vaccinated laboratory mice become more virulent, according to research at Penn State University. The mice were injected with a critical component of several candidate human malaria vaccines that now are being evaluated in clinical trials. "Our research shows immunization with this particular type of malaria vaccine can create ecological conditions that favor the evolution of parasites that cause more severe disease in unvaccinated mice," said Andrew Read, Alumni Professor of Biological Sciences at Penn State.

疫苗研究者提醒要更關注嚴重的瘧疾之演化


key words:
Vaccine

human malaria vaccines 

It is possible that more-virulent strains of malaria might evolve if a malaria vaccine goes into widespread use," Read said. The research, which will be published in the 31 July 2012 issue of the scientific journal PLoS Biology.

文中提到，實際狀況並不明白--確定動物模式的通則是極度困難的，是否人類的瘧疾已有演化。但在Read說：with our parasites, our mice, and with this particular antigen; the malaria parasites that evolved through vaccinated hosts become more virulent

Journal Reference:

1. Margaret J. Mackinnon, Andrew F. Read. Immunity Promotes Virulence Evolution in a Malaria Model.PLoS Biology, 2004; 2 (9): e230 DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0020230