The Approach That is Killing Cancer Tumours Faster Than Ever

US researchers have found that the wellness and wellbeing of cancer patients could be improved by using so-called cancer ‘monorails’ which are used to kill off tumours by luring them towards toxic pits or into areas of the body on which they can safely operate.

 

Cancer is one of the biggest health concerns facing people of all ages in every country around the world, and so this breakthrough research could have very significant repercussions.

 

The team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology has designed something called nanofibres, which are thinner than human hair and which cancers ‘choose’ to travel along. Studies carried out on animals so far have shown that tumour sizes can be reduced significantly by tricking cancer cells into migrating into these monorail-type fibres.

 

Leading cancer charity, Cancer Research UK, said that the idea of doing this was very fascinating, but cautioned that it was still early days in terms of the research.

 

The team that is working on this technique is working specifically with the most difficult types of brain cancer to treat, something called glioblastomas, which spread inside the brain and are often fatal. As these cancerous cells spread, they travel down blood vessels and nerves and end up invading the whole of the brain.

 

The nanofibre technology that the group is looking into mimics the channels that these types of cancerous cells use to move around the brain. The cancer cells normally latch on to these types of ‘monorail’ structures, and then move around the brain. The hope is that by providing alternative, attractive fibres, the tumours could be efficiently moved to different destinations, chosen by the treatment provider.

 

According to studies done on tests in a Petri dish, there are various types of cancers which can ride along this type of ‘monorail’ system.

Categories: Brain, cancer, cancer cells, cancerous cells, cells, monorail, nbsp, tumour, types

Multiple Myeloma: Is Your Bone Wellness is at Risk?

Multiple myeloma is a major health concern, as it affects the plasma cells in your body. These are the white blood cells that make antibodies, but when the cancer gets involved, abnormal plasma cells accumulate in your bones and bone marrow. This can have a damaging impact on your wellbeing, since the bone marrow is your body’s source of blood cells, so multiple myeloma interferes with the production of blood cells, and can lead to the development of bone lesions.

 

The problem with this type of cancer is that different varieties affect your wellness in different ways, and so some types are more recognisable than others. Indolent myeloma, for example, has no discernable symptoms. As it only develops slowly and does not cause bone tumours, the only things that may be seen are small increases in M plasma cells and M protein, which is an abnormal type of antibody found in myeloma patients. Solitary plasmocytoma, on the other hand, does involve a tumour which is usually found in one of your bones. This kind of multiple myeloma tends to respond well to treatment, but your doctor will have to monitor it closely.

 

As it stands, wellness experts are unsure as to what exactly causes multiple myeloma, but they do know that it begins with one abnormal plasma cell. When this cell multiplies in your bone marrow, it does so far more times than it should and – instead of multiplying and dying out like non-cancerous cells – it keeps dividing indefinitely. As a result, your body can become overwhelmed and start impairing the production of your healthy cells.

 

There aren’t many clear risk factors for multiple myeloma, but there are a few to watch out for:

 

1. Being over the age of 50 (although you’ll likely be diagnosed in your early to mid 60s)

2. Being male

3. Being of African origin

4. Being overweight or obese

5. Exposure to radiation

6. Having a job in the petroleum industry

7. Having a history of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). At least 1% of people with MGUS will also develop multiple myeloma every year.

Categories: abnormal plasma, blood cells, bone, Bone Cancer, Bone Marrow, cells, multiple, multiple myeloma, myeloma, plasma cells

Intermittent Fasting: The Key to Anti-Aging?

In ancient times, our ancestors were used to dealing with the scarcity of food. Having plenty to eat some days and little on other days was the norm, and did no harm to their wellness and wellbeing. Could it be, however, that intermittent fasting in this way can also have anti-aging effects?

 

This could be the case, as intermittent fasting enhances cellular repair, reduces oxidative stress and seems to be a great way of increasing your lifespan. Food scarcity over many thousands of years appears to have led to our ancestors and, subsequently, us, developing protective mechanisms in their bodies to help them adapt in times when food is scarce.

 

When food is scarce, the cell membranes in our bodies become more sensitive to insulin. This allows fat to be stored effectively and food used effectively too. On the other hand, when food is abundant, the body desensitises the cells to insulin, in order to store fat, and this produces oxidative stress and causes inflammatory conditions in the body. The increased insulin can also lead to increased risk of cancer and enhances cellular division.

 

Now that we have a massive abundance of food sources, the body is constantly receiving signals of surplus. In order to turn on the body’s natural anti-aging mechanism, intermittent fasting can be employed. This turns on the genetic repair mechanisms in the body and enhances the rejuvenation of cells. This process seems to allow certain cells to have a much longer lifetime, perhaps because it is less expensive to repair a cell than it is to break it up and make new cells. This stops the formation of cancer cells.

 

Therefore, new diets such as the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet could have all kinds of fantastic health benefits. As well as losing weight you could reduce your risk of cancer and keep looking younger for longer.

Categories: 5:2, anti aging, body, cells, diet, enhances cellular, Fasting, Food, intermittent, intermittent fasting, oxidative stress

The Medicine of Kings: Could Reishi Mushrooms Benefit You?

If you heard something was hailed in ancient Eastern medicine as the “mushroom of immortality” and the “medicine of kings,” you’d expect it to benefit your wellbeing in a pretty monumental way, right? Luckily for you, this is an accurate assumption to make about reishi, the fungus prized for the role it plays in complementary wellness. According to wellness experts, reishi can help to to boost your immune system, fight cancer, ward off heart disease, calm your nerves and relieve both allergies and inflammation – mushroom of immortality indeed!

 

In her book New Whole Foods Encyclopaedia, Rebecca Wood writes, ‘Reishi indeed sounds like a cure-all…An immunostimulant, it is helpful for people with AIDS, leaky-gut syndrome, Epstein-Barr, chronic bronchitis and other infectious diseases. It is used as an aid to sleep, as a diuretic, as a laxative and to lower cholesterol.’ It almost seems too good to be true – but is it? According to Andrew Weil, MD, author of 8 Weeks To Optimum Health, ‘Reishi is a purely medicinal mushroom, not a culinary one, both because it is hard and woody and because it tastes very bitter. But it is non-toxic and has been the subject of a surprising amount of scientific research, both in Asia and the West…Like maitake and other related mushroom species, reishi improves immune function and inhibits the growth of some malignant tumours. Additionally, it shows significant anti-inflammatory effect, reduces allergic responsiveness, and protects the liver.’

 

So how does it work? Weil explains, ‘One key function, identified long ago by Eastern medical science, is defence — that is, the body has the need and ability to defend itself against threats to its equilibrium, whether they be physical, emotional, or energetic. Having noted and studied the body’s defensive capabilities, Chinese doctors then explored the natural world to find ways of maintaining and enhancing them, and they discovered a number of ways to do so, including the administration of herbal remedies. Among these remedies are ginseng, astragalus, and several mushrooms that grow on trees, such as Ganoderma lucidum (known to the Chinese as ling chih and the Japanese as reishi).’

 

As well as enabling your cells to defend themselves against cancer, reishi helps immune cells bind to tumour cells and actually reduces the number of cancerous cells in your body, which makes it easier for T-cells and macrophages to get rid of them. However, there’s a fourth way in which reishi guards your wellbeing against cancer; through a substances called canthaxanthin. Phyllis A. Balch, author of Prescription for Dietary Wellness, comments, ‘Canthaxanthin acts as an antioxidant, boosts immunity, slows the growth of cancer cells, and may help to prevent skin and breast cancers. Food sources include mushrooms, particularly reishi, maitake, and shiitake.’

 

But it’s not only your body that can benefit from reishi; it’s also the mind. Dr. Ray Sahelia, author of Mind Boosters, asserts that the reishi mushroom can calm the mind, as well as improve memory, concentration and focus. It’s no wonder that, with all that reishi does, Herbal Medicine-Maker’s Handbook author James Green calls it a ‘remarkably beneficial fungus for the human body.’ The question remains, however; how much reishi should you take? Vitamin expert Earl Mindell, author of the Vitamin Bible for the Twenty-first Century, advises an average dose of 100 milligrams of reishi extract daily to boost your immune system. The Herbal Drugstore author Dr. Linda B. White, on the other hand, recommends up to three 1,000-milligram tablets up to three times per day. Therefore, you should consult your physician before taking reishi supplements, especially if you’re pregnant or lactating.

Categories: author, Better Memory, body, cancer prevention, cells, mushroom, reishi, Reishi Mushrooms

How age Changes Our Minds and Bodies

It’s common knowledge that if there is one aspect of your life will inevitably and irrevocably change your body, it is ageing.  We are all aware of aged or ageing relatives and the way that they have been changed by their battles with time. We naturally think of older people being more vulnerable to illness and disease, as well as being generally more fragile than they were when they were young. And it may well even be true that we place too much of an emphasis on cliché when we think of the old.

 

For so many people the first image that pops into their head when they think of old people in the wrinkled, dour old man with politically incorrect views and an aversion to change. They’re bad with technology, slow on the uptake and completely unwilling to change. But of course this is just the sort of stereotype that pigeonholes our opinions. So what is the truth of the matter? Let’s have a look at some scientifically valid examples of the way ageing actually changes us.

 

With regards to the belief in the rather right-wing-leaning opinions of the old, it seems that this might actually be more bluster than reality. According to one survey of more than 46,000 Americans taken between 1972 and 2004, adults’ attitudes became more liberal regarding their thoughts on politics, economics, gender, religion and even race and sexuality issues as they got older. While the survey did not look at the patterns of individuals, so we can’t tell whether conservative people specifically became more liberal as they aged, it was clear from the analysis that as people aged they were more likely to have a more tolerant attitude.

 

It also seems that it’s not only what’s on the outside physically that changes within our bodies, it is also our cells. Specifically we know that stem cells age just in the same way that other cells do. Stem cells are often thought of as being able to combat ageing as they replenish old or damaged cells, but it seems that they also feel the effects of the wear and tear of ageing. Research published in 2007 argues that stem cells’ regenerative abilities declines as you get older.

 

Another study showed that as we age we seem to naturally need less sleep – or at least this is one way of looking at the analysis that was presented. A study looked at the sleeping patterns of more than 100 healthy adults and allowed them eight hours of being in bed. The oldest group, who were aged from 66 to 83 slept for around 20 minutes less than people in middle age, consisting of those who were 40 to 55. The middle agers, in turn, slept 23 minutes less than the youngest group who were aged 20 to 30.

 

Becoming distracted more easily also appears to be a problem for older adults than it is for their younger counterparts. It seems to be true that as we age we find it more difficult to tune out the things going on around us and focus on just one thing at a time.

 

But perhaps the most predictable and common sign of ageing is certainly backed up by medical knowledge. We know very well that looking at the skin can be a very quick and easy way to ascertain if someone is ageing. It seems that this is partially down to the outer layer of the skin – known as the epidermis – thinning as we get older. This combines with the fact that the skin becomes less supple as the years mount up.

Categories: aged, ageing, cells, mind, nbsp, people, sleep, stem cells

How to Use Vitamin E to Help Boost Your Physical Wellness

Vitamins, minerals and supplements often form an important part of maintaining your wellness and wellbeing. The alternative medicine industry is one of the biggest growing areas, especially as health care and associated insurance costs rocketing. With people fearing for the cost implications of any health problems, they are frequently turning to alternative medicine both for the prevention and treatment of various health conditions. Even the medical profession is now advising people to look at the benefits of theses dietary supplements to help boost their wellness.

A new generation exists, a generation that is focused on the things that they believe will help to keep them in optimal health – things like exercise, lifestyle choices, proper diet and the use of appropriate dietary supplements such as verbs and vitamins.

Of all the vitamin supplements that are recommended the most commonly recommended one is vitamin E. This is because vitamin E is a very powerful dietary supplement and has numerous health benefits.

This is a fat soluble vitamin, and it usually occurs naturally within the human body. It is responsible for protecting the tissue of cells from free radicals, and works by protecting these cells from the natural expenditure of metabolism and energy. In terms of the immune system, vitamin E is considered the best way to promote the natural destruction of bacterial cells and viruses. This is especially important during cold and flu season, where people need and extra boost to their immune system to avoid the common and infectious illnesses.

Vitamin E can be found naturally in certain foods, such as nuts, leafy vegetables, mangos and kiwi fruits. If you are not getting enough vitamin E in these foods, you can also take the vitamin in a pull form. Around 15 milligrams of vitamin E per day is usually recommended.

Categories: alternative medicine, cells, dietary, dietary supplements, health, supplement, Supplements, vitamin, vitamin e

What Could the Cold and Chilies Do For Weight Loss?

A new study suggests that we can now burn fat with the combination of cold temperatures and chili peppers, providing effective weight loss. Researchers have found that exposure to low temperatures and the consumption of the chemicals found in chili peppers can increase the number and activity of brown fat cells, which burn energy. The study is the first to prove that the activity of brown fat cells can be induced in people who appear to have very few or no brown fat cells. The participants in the study who were also exposed to the cold also had less ‘bad’ white fat cells by the end of the study. Brown fat cells are currently the subject of intense research as the focus of anti-obesity drugs. In this new study, researchers exposed eight people with few brown fat cells to moderately low temperatures of 63 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours every day for the course of six weeks. Compared to the control subjects, who simply led a normal life, these people had around five per cent less body fat at the end of the study. They also burned more energy when they were exposed to the cold.

The researchers also looked at people who ate capsinoids, which are found in chilies, for six weeks. They found that these people also burned more energy than the control group when they were exposed to the cold temperatures, but they didn’t lose any more white fat than the control group. The experiment couldn’t have continued for long enough to see if there were any white-fat-burning effects on the compounds. The results of this study also help to explain the results of a previous study, which found that people who ate capsinoids had increased levels of fat breakdown. It was previously thought that brown fat, also referred to as brown adipose tissue (BAT), was only ever present in babies. But three independent research groups in 2009 found that brown fat cells do exist in the upper chest and neck of some adults. There is also another type of BAT known as beige fat, which is a subset of brown fat but formed from white fat cells.

Brown fat cells induced by the cold and capsinoids are likely beige fat, because they don’t show up on scans that are used to detect concentrated regions of brown fat cells. The study offers some interesting results because it suggests that chemicals which induce brown fat could be used to fight obesity. They would probably work better at keeping healthy people from becoming fat, rather than working as a diet alternative. However, with a rising obesity crisis, this could offer promising future developments. Capsinoids seem to induce brown fat in the same way as cold temperatures, by capturing the same cellular system that the body’s nervous system uses to create heat in the body. Developers are looking to create a drugs that activates this system, but capsinoids themselves won’t be used as they are a natural product and can’t be patented. The sweet chili peppers that capsinoids come from don’t actually taste hote, but they do produce the same physiological effects, such as making us sweat. Weight loss products are always popular with today’s society, and pharmaceutical companies are hopeful that this study could offer some inspiration for a new product to achieve the same effects in pill form.

Categories: ate capsinoids, brown, cells, chili peppers, chilies, control group, induce brown, new study, people, study, Weight Loss

Vanquish: The New Fat Loss Device Everyone’s Talking About

We all have that fantasy – apart from that one about Ryan Gosling – to lose weight and have better wellness minus the effort of dieting, exercise or surgery. While this seems like nothing more than a pipe dream, your effort-free, weight loss wellbeing may me just around the corner, thanks to a revolutionary treatment called Vanquish that even usually sceptical doctors are excited about.

 

According to David McDaniel, a leading researcher and an assistant professor of clinical dermatology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, who has been conducting an independent study on Vanquish, ‘I’ve seen a lot of fat-removal techniques; some procedures are painful or take too long; some are effective only on small areas of body fat that can be sucked up through a small vacuum. Vanquish addresses all those problems. It can treat a large surface area uniformly. It’s fast, efficient, and comfortable…I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and most advances have been little baby steps. This is a big technological breakthrough.’

 

The treatment, which will become usable by an elite corps of doctor’s offices this month, targets your fat cells through radio frequency waves which heat the cells and kill them off without damaging your muscles or skin. As the applicator is suspended over your abdomen about an inch above your skin, Vanquish is non-invasive, and there’s no downtime or ridiculous price tag. In the US, a 30-minute session goes for $450 (£282) to $800 (£501), and it’s recommended that you have four sessions. During these sessions, you may feel a warming sensation, but there should be no pain. The only risk to watch out for is a hot spot near to a bone, which your technician can readjust and fix without a problem.

 

The FDA approved Vanquish earlier this year for deep-tissue heating, which can help your muscles to recover and heal. However, the FDA is awaiting further results before giving the device the seal of approval for fat reduction. Still, the current research is impressive; animal studies have shown that Vanquish killed 60% of the fat cells treated with it, and a subsequent Prague study done on people with love handles showed visible results within two weeks, revealing an average loss in waist circumference of 2.23 inches after two months. Robert Weiss, an associate professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the lead researcher of the aforementioned animal study, notes, ‘This new technique is a real game changer—it’s the safest, easiest way yet to remove fat.’

 

‘As the panels heat up, the radio frequency waves they transmit differentiate between fat cells (which are denser and hold less water) and skin and muscle cells,’ Weiss explains. ‘The heat causes cell death in the fat cells; some die instantly, some in a matter of weeks…I’ve seen patients lose several inches after four treatments without changing their diets.’ McDaniel continues, ‘The results are not as dramatic as liposuction, which can remove large volumes of fat,’ adding that Vanquish does not carry the risks of surgery or anaesthesia. However, Adam Kolker, a plastic surgeon and an associate clinical professor of surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Icahn School of Medicine in New York, asserts, ‘I’ve seen a lot of people who’ve undergone various non-surgical fat-reduction treatments who were underwhelmed with the results.’

 

Still, Kolker allows, ‘It may be appropriate for small-scale changes as long as the patient’s expectations are well managed.’ Nonetheless, Patricia Wexler, a dermatologist to New York’s A-list, believes that expectations will be high for the procedure. She points out, ‘It’s great for women who are in good shape, within 5 to 10% of their ideal weight, and don’t want to go through surgery. A lot of women exercise and don’t have a lot of weight to lose, but they’ve had children or seen changes in their core for other reasons.’

Categories: cells, fat loss, frequency waves, nbsp, Non-Invasive, radio frequency, results, surgery, Vanquish

Could a New Vaccine Protect You from Type 1 Diabetes?

When your wellness is affected by type 1 diabetes, your body doesn’t produce any insulin. This is different from the more common version of the disease – type 2 diabetes – in that type 2 involves your body either not producing enough insulin, or your cells ignoring insulin that is indeed present in your body. There is no cure for type 1 diabetes and so researchers often look into ways to prevent the disease and now a new study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, may have found a way to do exactly that.

 

In an early stage trial, a new vaccine for type 1 diabetes is showing promising results in stalling and preventing the autoimmune disease from manifesting. Up until now, type 1 prevention has revolved around suppressing your immune system, but this method can be damaging to your wellbeing in other ways; increasing your risk of cancer and infections. According to Dr. Richard Insel, chief scientific officer of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), ‘What one really wants to do is tame or regulate the specific aspects of the immune system that have gone awry and leave the rest of the immune system intact.’

 

For the study, the Netherlands’ Leiden University Medical Centre and California’s Stanford University researchers experimented with the TOL-3021 vaccine, which was genetically altered so that it could shut down your harmful immune system cells without affecting the rest of your system. 80 type 1 diabetics, who were all receiving insulin injections, were given the vaccine for 12 weeks, which appeared to help maintain some insulin-producing beta cells within the pancreas. The vaccine raised people’s levels of C-peptides, which is a sign that the insulin beta cells were working, and lowered the number of immune system-killing T cells.

 

Study author Dr. Lawrence Steinman, a Stanford professor and the co-founder of company Tolerion – which was created to commercialise the vaccine when it is ready – commented, ‘So far, it looks like it is doing what we want. It looks like it has some potential, but very small numbers.’ The researchers are now designing a new and longer study, with the hope of recruiting as many as 200 patients.

Categories: beta cells, cells, Diabetes, Insulin, Research, type, type 1 diabetes, Vaccine

Could You Be Killing Off Your Brain Cells Every Day?

Your brain cells are constantly dying, and this is what contributes to the process of cognitive decline. As your brain cells die, the wellness and wellbeing of your brain decreases and you lose the ability to think, process and reason. It can also affect your memory and your ability to think critically and problem solve.

 

This is a natural process that occurs with age, but there are also many things in your day-to-day life which could be killing off your brain cells. These things are not particularly well-known so people are often unaware of the damage that they could be doing to their brains. They are also often unaware of the ways in which they could be keeping their brain healthy.

 

Alcohol is one of the major culprits in this. Too much alcohol kills off brain cells and can be very damaging for your cognitive function. Drugs are also a serious culprit in the killing off of brain cells. Drugs like cocaine in particular are extremely damaging for brain cells. Smoking is another surefire way to kill off your brain cells. Not only does inhaling toxic cigarette smoke kill off your brain cells, but it actually prevents the growth of new brain cells.

 

Eating unhealthy food is another reason that brain cells may be killed off. The nutrients in healthy food help to make the brain fully functioning and if these nutrients are not provided in the diet then the brain dies off.

 

It stands to reason, also, that concussion can be damaging for the brain, too. Although you can’t entirely guard against accidents, you can take appropriate precautions such as wearing a helmet when you are doing a dangerous job, such as construction, or when you play a contact sport.

Categories: Brain, brain cells, cells, kill, nbsp, process, reason

Hollywood Stars Lose Weight with the Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Unless you’re a scientist or pub quiz regular, you probably haven’t thought much about your cells since you did biology at school. However, your cells could be the key to your best weight and wellness, as Hollywood’s new favourite diet plan – the anti-inflammatory diet – operates on a biochemical level.

The anti-inflammatory diet can provide your wellbeing with huge benefits, such as a slimmer figure, a clearer mind and better skin. Stars of the silver screen have already taken note of these benefits, such as Matthew Fox (Lost, Vantage Point) who has followed just such an eating plan to shape up for upcoming movie World War Z. Other celebrity fans of the diet include Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, Dear John), Charlize Theron (Prometheus, Monster) and Penelope Cruz (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Vanilla Sky).

So what’s so appealing about the anti-inflammatory diet? The eating plan is designed to neutralize the inflammation that occurs inside your body, due to high levels of saturated fats, trans fats, and refined sugars. These foods set off a series of reactions, in which the “bad fat” triggers your liver to release chemicals to fight the toxins, which in turn causes inflammation. But as your body is inflamed, this means the glucose in food can’t be transported to your cells, and so your brain isn’t registering the intake. This leaves you feeing foggy, hungry and craving more, which becomes a dangerous cycle.

‘The more inflammation you have, the less efficiently you’re using your calories, so you eat more and feel worse,’ explains Jackie Keller, the Los Angeles–based founder of the NutriFit meal-delivery service, who crafts anti-inflammatory diet plans for Channing Tatum, Penelope Cruz, and Charlize Theron. ‘Not all my clients understand the science, but they feel better and find it easier to lose weight, and that’s what matters.’

According to Kristin Kirkpatrick, a registered dietitian and wellness manager at the Cleveland Clinic, ‘Because we’re eating so many processed foods, inflammation is a bigger problem than ever before. This diet is partly about what you don’t eat—saturated fats, trans fats, and sugar—and a lot about what you do eat.’ As well as picking plenty of produce, especially deeply coloured fruits and vegetables which are packed with phytonutrients that help neutralize inflammation; the diet includes unsaturated fats found in fish and olive oil.

Categories: anti-inflammatory diet, celebrities, cells

Cancer: Is it Possible To Slow Mutations?

A new study led by MIT has discovered that some mutations in the genome of cancer cells can actually slow down or stop. Surprising researchers, this study has shown that cancer may not be a sequence of inevitable driver events, as first thought, but actually a delicate balance between drivers and passengers. This means that spontaneous remissions or remissions which are triggered by medications could be mediated by deleterious passenger mutations. The average cancer cell has a genome which has thousands of mutations and mutated genes within it – however, only a handful of these mutated genes are drivers which lead to an uncontrolled growth which develops into a tumour. Until the study, not much analysis was done into the passenger mutations, as it was thought these didn’t impact the progression of the cancer. However, these passenger mutations aren’t simply surplus genes. In sufficient numbers, they can slow down, or stop, the growth of cancer cells.

 

Passenger mutations, on their own, have little effect compared to drivers, but they have a profound effect when grouped together in large quantities. This offers new hope for potential cancer-fighting drugs in the future. Researchers have created a computer model which stimulates the evolutionary growth of cancer to test this theory, during which they found that during the long periods between acquiring new driver mutations, these cells were accumulating passenger mutations. There are several drugs in development which target the effect of chaperone proteins in cancer, which are aiming to suppress the driver mutations. But researchers think that another option, in developing drugs which target the chaperoning process by encouraging the suppressive effect of passenger mutations. They are now comparing cells with identical driver mutations, but different passenger mutations, to see which have the best effect on the growth of cells.

Categories: cancer, cells, growth

Memory Booster: Study Finds Benefit for Short-Term Stress

Stress can take its toll on your emotional wellbeing, not to mention your health, but your cognitive wellness will thank you for it. This is according to a new study, published in the online journal eLife, which says that stress, apparently, boosts your brain power.

It’s a well established fact that chronic stress increases your risk of a heart attack and compromises your immune system, but scientists have discovered that, when short-lived, stress primes your brain for improved performance, boosting your memory. This is based on studies in rats, in which the researchers found that brief, yet still significant, stressful events caused the rats’ brain stem cells to turn into new nerve cells. When these matured two weeks later, the rats’ mental performance had improved.

According to Daniela Kaufer, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, ‘You always think about stress as a really bad thing, but it’s not. Some amounts of stress are good to push you just to the level of optimal alertness, behavioural and cognitive performance. I think intermittent stressful events are probably what keeps the brain more alert, and you perform better when you are alert.’

Yet previous research has shown that chronic stress can elevate your levels of stress hormones which, in turn, suppresses this new neuron production and impairs your memory. Aside from this, it’s known that elevated levels of these hormones increase your risk of obesity, heart disease and depression. However, Dr Kaufer said that less is known about the effects of acute stress, and studies have been conflicting. She noted that her study shows that if these hormone levels are raised briefly, they boost memory, but the nerve cells need time to develop first.

Dr Kaufer explained, ‘In terms of survival, the nerve cell proliferation doesn’t help you immediately after the stress, because it takes time for the cells to become mature, functioning neurons, but in the natural environment, where acute stress happens on a regular basis, it will keep the animal more alert, more attuned to the environment and to what actually is a threat or not a threat.’ She added, ‘I think the ultimate message is an optimistic one: Stress can be something that makes you better, but it is a question of how much, how long and how you interpret or perceive it.’

Memory Booster: Study Finds Benefit for Short-Term Stress

Categories: acute stress, Brain, cells, chronic stress, dr kaufer, memory, nerve cells, Research, Short-term stress, Stress, stressful events

Memory Booster: Study Finds Benefit for Short-Term Stress

Stress can take its toll on your emotional wellbeing, not to mention your health, but your cognitive wellness will thank you for it. This is according to a new study, published in the online journal eLife, which says that stress, apparently, boosts your brain power.

It’s a well established fact that chronic stress increases your risk of a heart attack and compromises your immune system, but scientists have discovered that, when short-lived, stress primes your brain for improved performance, boosting your memory. This is based on studies in rats, in which the researchers found that brief, yet still significant, stressful events caused the rats’ brain stem cells to turn into new nerve cells. When these matured two weeks later, the rats’ mental performance had improved.

According to Daniela Kaufer, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, ‘You always think about stress as a really bad thing, but it’s not. Some amounts of stress are good to push you just to the level of optimal alertness, behavioural and cognitive performance. I think intermittent stressful events are probably what keeps the brain more alert, and you perform better when you are alert.’

Yet previous research has shown that chronic stress can elevate your levels of stress hormones which, in turn, suppresses this new neuron production and impairs your memory. Aside from this, it’s known that elevated levels of these hormones increase your risk of obesity, heart disease and depression. However, Dr Kaufer said that less is known about the effects of acute stress, and studies have been conflicting. She noted that her study shows that if these hormone levels are raised briefly, they boost memory, but the nerve cells need time to develop first.

Dr Kaufer explained, ‘In terms of survival, the nerve cell proliferation doesn’t help you immediately after the stress, because it takes time for the cells to become mature, functioning neurons, but in the natural environment, where acute stress happens on a regular basis, it will keep the animal more alert, more attuned to the environment and to what actually is a threat or not a threat.’ She added, ‘I think the ultimate message is an optimistic one: Stress can be something that makes you better, but it is a question of how much, how long and how you interpret or perceive it.’

Memory Booster: Study Finds Benefit for Short-Term Stress

Categories: acute stress, Brain, cells, chronic stress, dr kaufer, memory, nerve cells, Research, Short-term stress, Stress, stressful events

New Cell Discovery Linked to Eczema and Allergies

If your wellness is affected by eczema or other allergies, it may be due to a type of immune cell in your skin. This is according to a new study published this week in the journal Nature Immunology, which has come about thanks to a collaboration among researchers from the University of Sydney’s affiliated Centenary Institute and colleagues in New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

Years ago, a family of cells, known as group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2), was discovered ago in the laboratory of Professor Wolfgang Weninger, and this new cell type is part of this group. Professor Weninger’s lab has been responsible for developing techniques in marking different cells of your immune system, and tracking them live under the microscope. However, until now the identity of the immune cells has remained a mystery.

According to Dr Ben Roediger, first author on the paper and a research officer in the Centenary’s Immune Imaging Laboratory, this is the first time such cells had been found in the skin, and they are relatively more numerous there. He noted, ‘Our data show that these skin ILC2 cells can likely suppress or stimulate inflammation under different conditions. They also suggest a potential link to allergic skin diseases.’

The researchers contacted Professor Graham Le Gros at the Malaghan Institute in New Zealand, one of the world’s foremost researchers into type 2 immunity (the part of your immune system that deals with infection by parasitic organisms), as they suspected that the cells may be associated with this system. The Professor not only confirmed this suspicion, but also provided a new strain of mouse developed in the United States that provided insight into the function of ILC2 cells.

Roediger explained, ‘Using these mice, we found that ILC2 cells were the major population in the skin that produced interleukin 13, a molecule that has been linked to a number of allergic diseases, including eczema.’ He added, ‘We now have experiments underway in which we are actively looking for the direct involvement of these cells in the sort of skin diseases you would predict based on these findings.’

New Cell Discovery Linked to Eczema and Allergies

Categories: cells, Eczema, ilc2, ILC2 Cells, immune, professor, Research, skin, skin diseases

Heart Health Meets Mental Health: The Damage of Cholesterol

If you have high cholesterol, it may not just be your physical wellbeing, but also your mental health at stake. This is according to a study published in the online journal PLOS ONE, which found that people with raised cholesterol don’t just have an increased risk of heart disease – they may be more likely to develop dementia.

It has already been established that high levels of cholesterol are significantly linked to the brain plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Now, US scientists have discovered the reason which high cholesterol levels damages your brain, as well as your blood vessels. The researchers at the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and University of Colorado found that cholesterol wreaks havoc on the orderly process of cell division. This insight was discovered when the team was investigating two much rarer disorders; Down Syndrome and Niemann Pick-C disease.

The researchers say that cholesterol, particularly in the ‘bad’ LDL form, causes your cells, as well as the cells of mice, to divide incorrectly and distribute their already-duplicated chromosomes unequally to the next generation. This means that your body accumulates defective cells with the wrong number of chromosomes, which, in turn, leads to an accumulation of the wrong number of genes. You’re meant to acquire two copies of each chromosome, and therefore two copies of each gene, but instead some cells acquire three copies and some only one.

When cells carry three copies of the chromosome, these are associated with the damaging protein amyloid, which occurs between nerve cells. You have amyloid plaques in your brain when your wellness is affected by Alzheimer’s. According to previous research, when you have high cholesterol levels, as defined by a reading of more than 5.8 mmol/L, you’re significantly more likely to have brain plaques than those with normal or lower cholesterol levels.

In this previous study, carried out by researchers from Japan’s Kyushu University, 86% of people with high cholesterol had brain plaques, compared with only 62 percent of people with low cholesterol levels. The researchers also used autopsies to look for tangles in the brain, which is also a known trademark sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Tangles are an accumulation of a protein called tau, which occurs inside nerve cells, but the researchers found no link between high cholesterol and the tangles that develop in the brain with Alzheimer’s disease. Still, there was a definite link with plaques.

Heart Health Meets Mental Health: The Damage of Cholesterol

Categories: Alzheimer's Disease, Brain, brain plaques, cells, cholesterol, cholesterol levels, high cholesterol, Mental Health, nerve cells, Research

Can Coral Help You to Treat Osteo-Arthritis?

Studies have found that implants made from coral could help to renew knee joints in people suffering with osteo-arthritis. Helping to stimulate the growth of new tissue in the cartilage, through stem cells, this new medical technology could offer a great deal of hope for people who deal with this debilitating disease. The body’s own immature cells can develop into any type of tissue, including that in the joints. Those dealing with osteo-arthritis could be in luck, as this study offers promising results in the development of new treatments.

Researchers chose to use coral as its structure is closely linked to that of bones in the human body, which helps to provide the ideal scaffold for new blood vessels and cartilage to connect to. It’s thought that around eight million people in the UK have some variation of osteo-arthritis, which damages and destroys the cartilage – this is the body’s natural shock absorber which helps to reduce the impact from walking and running. Scientists worked with the coral segments by coating them in human growth factors, which encourage the development of new cells in the body.

Currently, there are no options with regards to medication for this condition, so people suffering with it are crippled with pain and swelling in the joints. Other risk factors, such as family history and weight impact the severity of the arthritis as well. Coral has been used in bone grafts for many years, as new cells need something to build from inside the body – coral works as a scaffold. This study offers hope for osteo-arthritis sufferers though, as researchers believe it could be used for cartilage replacements. Results from recent studies found that after six to twelve months, the stem cells had created a new layer of cartilage and the coral implant has dissolved.

 

Can Coral Help You to Treat Osteo-Arthritis?

Categories: Arthritis, cartilage, cells, coral, osteo arthritis, Osteoarthritis, people suffering, stem cells, study offers, treatment

Thinking small could help you retain your wellness throughout the years, as ageing begins in some of the smallest molecules in your body. You may already be aware of the different products that can boost wellbeing as you age and understanding how they can make a difference to your health could help you decide which anti-ageing methods could work best for you. Under the microscope Cells alter as we get older and they start to work less efficiently – a major reason why we start to look and feel older. In order to keep making new cells the molecules divide, but this ability begins to fade over time. Scientists believe this is down to protective caps on our genes shrinking. Called telomeres, these caps seem to help cells divide quicker, but they get shorter over time and with stress. The shortening and the effects of damaging molecules called free radicals are connected with the ageing process and cell damage, but your lifestyle can limit these affects. Cook well Packing your diet full of nutrients is important if you want to look younger, as foods full of vitamins and minerals can protect against cell damage caused by free radicals. But, it also helps to make sure you cook your food with wellness in mind. Advanced glycation end (AGEs) products can be released when some foods are cooked over a very high heat, so nutrients are lost and even more free radicals produced. AGEs are connected with all sorts of wellbeing issues, including stiff joints, hardening of the arteries and wrinkles. So, opt to use lower temperatures when preparing food and cook for longer periods of time. Processed foods can also contain high AGE levels so swap processed cheeses and meats for fresher kinds. Eat less This isn’t about dieting to lose weight but eating less to encourage your cell’s natural healing ability to kick in. Experts have found that missing the occasional meal, or only eating at specific points in the day can have an anti-ageing effect on cells. Remember to ask a doctor before you begin new diets to check you’re compatible with the new way of eating. Speed up and down Being physically active, even just walking five days a week for half an hour a day, could add seven years to your life, so choose an activity that you enjoy. This could be linked with a hobby, or follow a pastime on its own, as hobbies have been connected to lower levels of stress and longer telomeres. Physical workouts are great for reducing free radicals and retaining muscle tone, but don’t forget about winding down and making sure you have enough time in the day for sleeping at least seven hours a night. This can help to keep your weight healthy and give your immune system a boost. Can your cells hold the secrets to anti-ageing?

Thinking small could help you retain your wellness throughout the years, as ageing begins in some of the smallest molecules in your body. You may already be aware of the different products that can boost wellbeing as you age and understanding how they can make a difference to your health could help you decide which anti-ageing methods could work best for you.

Under the microscope

Cells alter as we get older and they start to work less efficiently – a major reason why we start to look and feel older. In order to keep making new cells the molecules divide, but this ability begins to fade over time. Scientists believe this is down to protective caps on our genes shrinking. Called telomeres, these caps seem to help cells divide quicker, but they get shorter over time and with stress. The shortening and the effects of damaging molecules called free radicals are connected with the ageing process and cell damage, but your lifestyle can limit these affects.

Cook well

Packing your diet full of nutrients is important if you want to look younger, as foods full of vitamins and minerals can protect against cell damage caused by free radicals. But, it also helps to make sure you cook your food with wellness in mind. Advanced glycation end (AGEs) products can be released when some foods are cooked over a very high heat, so nutrients are lost and even more free radicals produced. AGEs are connected with all sorts of wellbeing issues, including stiff joints, hardening of the arteries and wrinkles. So, opt to use lower temperatures when preparing food and cook for longer periods of time. Processed foods can also contain high AGE levels so swap processed cheeses and meats for fresher kinds.

Eat less

This isn’t about dieting to lose weight but eating less to encourage your cell’s natural healing ability to kick in. Experts have found that missing the occasional meal, or only eating at specific points in the day can have an anti-ageing effect on cells. Remember to ask a doctor before you begin new diets to check you’re compatible with the new way of eating.

Speed up and down

Being physically active, even just walking five days a week for half an hour a day, could add seven years to your life, so choose an activity that you enjoy. This could be linked with a hobby, or follow a pastime on its own, as hobbies have been connected to lower levels of stress and longer telomeres. Physical workouts are great for reducing free radicals and retaining muscle tone, but don’t forget about winding down and making sure you have enough time in the day for sleeping at least seven hours a night. This can help to keep your weight healthy and give your immune system a boost.

Can your cells hold the secrets to anti-ageing?

Categories: anti-ageing, cells, Food