Biomedical Laboratory Science

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Most Extreme Weight Loss Methods

A number of medical conditions improve with weight loss in general, regardless of the cause.. They include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, heartburn, joint pain, and depression.

While surgery is not considered “necessary” and is an individual’s choice, it is an option for people with BMI 35 and above if they have a medical condition related to obesity and for people with BMI 40 and above whether or not they have a related medical condition, according to according to Dr. William S. Yancy from Duke University Department of Medicine. Serious complications don’t happen often. But life-threatening side effects are possible, as is the case with any medical operation.

Source: www.msn.com/en-ca/health

Watch: Slide Video

Amino Acids in Cancer Metabolism and Neuroscience

These Building Blocks Could Be Valuable Tools for Research

Amino acids are important building blocks for protein synthesis and are also intermediary metabolites that fuel biosynthetic reactions, thus playing a dual role in cellular metabolism. Accurate quantification of L-amino acids in body fluids or purified samples may provide valuable information for diagnostic and basic research studies.

Cellular Roles of Amino Acids in Cancer and Neurobiology

Cancer cells have altered metabolism and are known for their metabolic abnormalities. One example is the Warburg effect, in which there is increased glycolytic activity even in the presence of oxygen. Cancer cells depend on a high rate of aerobic glycolysis for continued growth and survival.

Figure 1. Glutamine and the metabolism of other amino acids as targets for cancer therapy.

[Int J Mol Sci 2015;16:22830–22855; doi:10.3390/ijms160922830]

Source: genengnews

Cracking the Enigma of Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects one out of four people in the world, making it the most prevalent of all liver diseases and a major public health problem. The disease is defined by abnormally increased fat deposition in liver cells, which can progress with the addition of inflammation and cell damage to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), leading to progressive stages of fibrosis and, finally, cirrhosis. Early NASH is characterized by fat and inflammation associated with minimal amounts of fibrosis, and late NASH is associated with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. NAFLD is most closely associated with obesity and diabetes, although there are likely other genetic, nutritional, and environmental factors involved in the pathogenesis.

Although there are no approved pharmacologic treatments for NAFLD, NASH, or cirrhosis, there are over a dozen different companies researching possible treatments. However, the development of drug therapies for the NAFLD spectrum of disease is hampered by a number of challenges:

the chronic nature of the disorder and ultimately low morbidity and mortality,
the impact of weight loss on the disease,
a complex and poorly defined pathophysiology,
the lack of easily administered diagnostic testing, and
the evolving status of regulatory endpoints.

The results of multiple clinical trials over the next few years will clarify potential therapies and target
pathways. © Sebastian Kaulitzki/Fotolia]

Source: genengnews

If You Are In Danger Of BREAST CANCER, Your Body Will Give You These 5 Signs!

Invasive breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women in the US only. It’s the type of cancer with the highest incidence among women. According to the American Cancer Society, by the end of 2016, 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in America, 40,450 of which will be terminal.

Detecting the cancer early significantly increases the chances of successful treatment. Knowing the early signs and symptoms of invasive breast cancer can help you detect it in its early stages.

FATIGUE

Fatigue is a common symptom in many types of cancer, including breast cancer. The thing is this type of fatigue cannot be alleviated by sleep or rest. Cancer-related fatigue is not caused by physical strain and is often accompanied by other symptoms such as pain, sleep disturbance and depression. This fatigue is caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the body the cancer creates, according to scientists.

Source: healthylivingstyle

Watch: Female Breast Exam

Heatwaves, Cold Snaps May Raise Preterm Birth Risk

Being pregnant during a heatwave is far from the most pleasant scenario for a woman, but new research finds such extreme temperatures may do more than make expectant mothers uncomfortable; they could increase the risk of preterm birth.

In a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that exposure to extreme cold or intense heat during pregnancy increased women's preterm birth risk by up to a fifth.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2014, around 1 in 10 infants in the United States were born preterm - defined as the birth of a baby before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant death in the U.S., and it is also a primary cause of long-term disabilities and neurological disorders, such as cerebral palsy and developmental delay.

Researchers say exposure to extreme heat or cold during pregnancy may increase the risk of preterm
birth.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Saturday, September 3, 2016

From Krebs to Clinic: Glutamine Metabolism to Cancer Therapy

The resurgence of research into cancer metabolism has recently broadened interests beyond glucose and the Warburg effect to other nutrients, including glutamine. Because oncogenic alterations of metabolism render cancer cells addicted to nutrients, pathways involved in glycolysis or glutaminolysis could be exploited for therapeutic purposes. In this Review, we provide an updated overview of glutamine metabolism and its involvement in tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo, and explore the recent potential applications of basic science discoveries in the clinical setting.

Cancer cells show increased consumption of and dependence on glutamine.
Glutamine metabolism fuels the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, nucleotide and fatty acid biosynthesis, and redox balance in cancer cells.
Glutamine activates mTOR signaling, suppresses endoplasmic reticulum stress and promotes protein synthesis.

Major metabolic and biosynthetic fates of glutamine

Source: NatureReviewsCancer

Download: From Krebs to clinic: glutamine metabolism to cancer therapy.pdf

Zika Virus — Reigniting The TORCH

The recent association between Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy and fetal microcephaly has led to a renewed interest in the mechanisms by which vertically transmitted microorganisms reach the fetus and cause congenital disease. In this Opinion article, we provide an overview of the structure and cellular composition of the human placenta and of the mechanisms by which traditional 'TORCH' pathogens (Toxoplasma gondii, other, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus) access the fetal compartment. Based on our current understanding of ZIKV pathogenesis and the developmental defects that are caused by fetal ZIKV infection, ZIKV should be considered a TORCH pathogen and future research and public health measures should be planned and implemented accordingly.

Zika virus (ZIKV), a member of the Flaviviridae family of RNA viruses, was first isolated in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1947.

Routes used by TORCH pathogens to overcome the placental barrier. Vertical
transmission and congenital disease induced by ZIKV.

Source: NatureReviewsMicrobiology

Download: Zika Virus — Reigniting The TORCH.pdf

Have You Woken Up At Night And Were Unable To Move And Felt Paralyzed?

The average person sleeps for around eight hours a day. Over a lifetime this amounts to spending about one third of life asleep. It’s common knowledge that a good nights rest is vitally important for maintaining health and balance, both mentally and physically.

However, for some people a good night’s sleep is hard to come by, or it ends up being ruined, by a strange phenomenon that is called sleep paralysis.

Source: reason4read

Watch: Sleep Paralysis

Scientists Have Shown What Our Emotions Actually Look Like

Our bodies experience a range of physical sensations depending on whether we feel joy, sadness, or fear. Scientists from Finland recently discovered through precisely which parts of our body we experience a range of emotions. They represented this visually by showing the strongest emotions and sensations in yellow and red. Those areas of the body where their test subjects experienced a weak emotion were represented in a dark or light blue color.

We at Bright Side found it truly fascinating to learn what our emotions and their corresponding physical sensations ’look’ like in our bodies.

Stress and Emotions in Your Body

Source: brightside

Watch: How Hormones Influence Us?

Study Finds Potential New Biomarker For Cancer Patient Prognosis

To treat or not to treat? That is the question researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) hope to answer with a new advance that could help doctors and their cancer patients decide if a particular therapy would be worth pursuing.

Berkeley Lab researchers identified 14 genes regulating genome integrity that were consistently overexpressed in a wide variety of cancers. They then created a scoring system based upon the degree of gene overexpression. For several major types of cancer, including breast and lung cancers, the higher the score, the worse the prognosis. Perhaps more importantly, scores could accurately predict patient response to specific cancer treatments.

The researchers said the findings, to be published Wednesday, Aug. 31, in the journal Nature Communications, could lead to a new biomarker for the early stages of tumor development. The information obtained could help reduce the use of cancer treatments that have a low probability of helping.

The centromeres and kinetochores of a chromosome play critical roles during cell division. In mitosis,
microtubule spindle fibers attach to the kinetochores, pulling the chromatids apart. A breakdown in this
process causes chromosome …more

Source: medicalxpress

Biomedical Laboratory Science