Latest News and Lab Reports

Sleep apnea may increase risk of pneumonia

People with sleep apnea may be at higher risk of pneumonia than people without, says a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), with one’s risk increasing according to severity of the individual’s sleep apnea. Taiwanese researchers tracked 34,100 patients – about 20 per cent with sleep apnea and the rest controls – for 11 years. Among sleep apnea patients, 9.4 per cent developed pneumonia compared with 7.8 per cent in the control group. Sleep apnea is characterised by disrupted sleep, caused when the upper airway becomes obstructed by soft tissue, cutting off oxygen. It has been linked to heart disease and cognitive impairment.

 

Environmental pollutant linked to prostate cancer

Cincinnati Cancer Centre researchers have discovered a link between bisphenol A (BPA) and prostate cancer, and suggest that low-dose exposure to the pollutant can cause cellular changes in both non-malignant and malignant prostate cells. BPA, commonly found in plastic food containers, has shown in animal studies to have adverse health effects, including neurological defects, diabetes and breast and prostate cancers. This new Cincinnati study, published in PLOS ONE, was done in 60 urology patients. Higher levels of BPA were found in urine samples of prostate cancer patients than in non-prostate cancer patients. In addition, low doses of BPA exposure increased the percentage of cells with disruptions two-fold to eight-fold.
Gut microbes spur development of bowel cancer

Microbes living in the gut help drive the development of intestinal tumours that cause bowel cancer, according to new research in mice published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Bowel, or colorectal, cancer, results from genetic mutations that cause healthy cells to become progressively cancerous, first forming early tumours called polyps that can eventually become malignant. Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, have found that treating mice with antibiotics to disrupt the populations of gut microbes prevented polyp formation. The authors suggest bacteria cross from the gut into the tissue of the intestinal wall, triggering inflammation that promotes tumour growth.

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