In The News This Week … June 29–July 5, 2008: Cancer, Crohn's, Kids' Health, Women's Health, & Dementia

Promising – and Accidental – Cancer Treatment?

Research published online on June 30 in Nature Biotechnology reports that a drug developed using nanotechnology and a fungus (Aspergillus fumigatus fresenius) discovered while a scientist was trying to grow endothelial cells in the lab may be effective against several forms of cancer. The drug, an angiogenesis inhibitor now known as lodamin, has proven successful in tests on mice with breast cancer, neuroblastoma, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, glioblastoma, and uterine tumors. The drug is in pill form, without side effects.

Possible Clue to Cancer Spread

An article published in the July issue of The American Journal of Pathology suggests that fibrocytes, normal cells found in the blood that have a role in healing wounds, may also be allowing cancer to spread. While working with mice that were genetically engineered to lack the cell receptor CCR5 (which helps control the migration of cells through the body) and which also had melanoma, researchers noted that these mice had fewer metastatic tumors than normal mice with melanoma. They therefore began injecting the genetically engineered mice with different cells to see which resulted in more tumors. Those injected with fibrocytes started making matrix metallopeptidase 9, or MMP-9, an enzyme that is known to promote cancer. As explained in a June 30 news release, mice injected with just 60,000 fibrocytes had the rate of metastases nearly double – a big effect for a relatively small number of cells. However, as researcher Dr. Hendrik van Deventer pointed out, "This study shows it's possible for fibrocytes to form the premetastatic niche. But it stops short of proving they positively are the cells."

The Mediterranean Diet & Cutting Cancer Risk

We've heard before of the heart-healthy benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Now, findings published in the July issue of the British Journal of Cancer suggests that adopting just a couple of the elements of the Mediterranean diet (eating less red meat, and more peas, beans, and lentils) could cut cancer risk by 12% – and using more olive oil could cut the risk of cancer by 9%. The findings were based on 25,623 participants (10,582 men and 15,041 women) who were part of the Greek segment of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC) study.

Genes & Crohn's Disease

A paper published online on June 29 in Nature Genetics combined data from three Crohn's studies (3,230 cases and 4,829 controls) and carried out replication in 3,664 independent cases, and their results strongly confirmed 11 previously reported genetic loci and provided genome-wide significant evidence for 21 additional loci connected to Crohn's.

Pain in Babies & Children

Two studies in July 1 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal looked at the effectiveness of techniques to minimize pain in newborns and children undergoing invasive procedures. In one study, researchers looked at 120 newborns from diabetic mothers and 120 from nondiabetic mothers, and used the Premature Infant Pain Profile to assess pain during intramuscular injection of vitamin K, venipuncture for the newborn screening test, and the first three heel lances for glucose monitoring (newborns of diabetic mothers only). Each newborn received 2 ml of a 24% sucrose solution or placebo solution before all procedures. They found that sucrose reduced overall pain in newborns when administered before painful medical procedures during the first two days after birth. The observed difference in pain, however, was modest (16%) and did not meet their definition of a clinically important difference of 20%. However, when each procedure was individually assessed, sucrose was effective for reducing pain during venipuncture for the newborn screening test, but it was ineffective during intramuscular injection of vitamin K, and was ineffective for reducing pain in newborns of diabetic mothers during repeated heel-lances. In another study, researchers conducted a double-blind randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of vapocoolant sprays to provide transient skin anesthesia for children (aged six to 12) undergoing intravenous cannulation. They found that the spray quickly and effectively reduced pain due to the procedures in children and improved the success rate of cannulation. They therefore concluded, "It is an important option to reduce childhood procedural pain in emergency situations, especially when time precludes traditional interventions."

More on Serotonin & SIDS

In late 2006, a news item was released that connected SIDS to brain stem abnormalities that impact the way the brain uses the neurotransmitter serotonin. Now, a report published on July 4 in Science has found that mice genetically engineered to have an overactive serotonin-regulating receptor, which reduced the amount of serotonin in the brains of these otherwise normal baby mice, had erratic episodes where their heart rate would drop and, five to 10 minutes later, their body temperature would drop. Also, more than half of the mice abruptly died before they were three months old – some dying in the midst of these erratic episodes, sometimes after. Researchers hope the findings may help pinpoint babies at high risk for SIDS.

Moms' Junk Food Diet & Their Kids' Future Health

Research involving rats, which was published the July issue of The Journal of Physiology suggests that eating a poor diet when pregnant or nursing may cause long-term health damage to the child. Researchers found that when rat mothers were fed a "junk food diet rich in fat, sugar and salt," their offspring had high levels of fat in their bloodstream and around major organs even after adolescence, and that the offspring had an increased diabetes risk, even if they ate a healthy diet themselves. Interestingly, male offspring of the junk-food-eating mothers had higher levels of insulin and normal blood sugar, while the reverse was true of females, who also tended to be fatter.

Treating Women's Hearts

A meta-analysis published in the July 2 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that in the case of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes, an invasive strategy has a comparable benefit in men and in high-risk women for reducing the composite end point of death, MI, or rehospitalization with acute coronary syndromes, and that there was evidence supporting new guidelines for a conservative strategy in the case of low-risk women.

Women, Men, & Dementia

An article published online on July 2 in Neurology, which used data from 911 participants in The 90+ Study, a population-based study of aging and dementia in people aged 90 and above, has found that prevalence of all-cause dementia doubled every five years after age 90 for women but not men. They also found that overall prevalence of all-cause dementia was higher in women (45%) than in men (28%), and that women – but not men – who had received higher education were much less likely to develop dementia than those with a lower level of education.

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