Gene increases effectiveness of drugs used to fight cancer and allows reduction in dosage

Researchers at the University of Granada have found a suicide gene, called 'gene E', which leads to the death of tumour cells derived from breast, lung and colon cancer, and prevents their growth. The importance of this new gene is that its use to fight cancer can reduce the potent drugs that are currently used, so that could mean more effective treatment for cancer. This research was conducted by Ana Rosa Rama Ballesteros, from the Department of Anatomy and Human Embryology at the University of Granada. Its aim was to study the possibility of reducing the dosage of drugs currently administered to cancer patients using combination therapy with suicide gene E. Scientists from the UGR have shown that the bacteriophage phiX174 killer gene called E, can be used to induce death in tumour cells. So far, attempts to use many chemotherapeutic (cytotoxic) agents similar to the E gene have shown severe limitations resulting from their toxicity and their poor affinity with the tumour.The results of this research suggest the possibility of reducing the concentration of chemotherapeutic agents in current use with cancer patients. Thus, in lung cancer cell line A-549, scientists from the UGR achieved a 14% inhibition of tumour growth and reduced by 100 times the dose of Paclitaxel agent when it was combined with gene E. In the case of colon cancer, the results were similar. However, the most relevant fact was found in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7, in which the dose of the chemotherapeutic agent, doxorubicin, was reduced by 100 times, reaching up to a 21% greater inhibition of tumour proliferation when combined with gene E. Currently, researchers from the UGR are in the process of obtaining a patent for gene E.

Painless Needles

Painless needles are one way technology is improving society. Needles are always scaring young children and even adults. Now with the new painless needle pediatricians can give vaccinations pain free. Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology call theses new needles micro needles. They are made from silicon, metal, glass or biodegradable polymer. Theses needles are 500 times smaller then ordinary hypodermic needles, which are too small to irritate nerve endings. These new needles will consist of 400 embedded micro needles will be glued to a patch that will gently puncture the skin. Now with this new technology society can have pain free shots.

New Wound Dressing, Full of Antibiotics, Dissolves When Wound Has Healed.

Despite advances in treatment regimens and the best efforts of nurses and doctors, about 70% of all people with severe burns die from related infections. But a revolutionary new wound dressing developed at Tel Aviv University could cut that number dramatically. Prof. Meital Zilberman of TAU's Department of Biomedical Engineering has developed a new wound dressing based on fibers she engineered -- fibers that can be loaded with drugs like antibiotics to speed up the healing process, and then dissolve when they've done their job.

Swine Flu Poll: Problems With Vaccine Supply and Safety Concerns

Nearly half of parents now don't intend to have their children vaccinated against the swine flu virus – and among those who do plan to get the vaccine, more than half say they've been deterred by supply problems, poll finds.

Nearly half of parents don't plan to vaccinate their kids against the virus. Others, meanwhile, continue to steer clear as a result of undiminished skepticism about the safety of the vaccine itself. Despite federal reassurances, a third of Americans say they're not confident it's safe, much like the 30 percent who said so last month. And 66 percent of adults say they themselves don't plan to get vaccinated - slightly up from 62 percent last month.

Heart attack patients receive radiation equivalent of 725 chest X-rays

Heart attack patients are exposed to a radiation dose equal to about 725 chest X-rays over the course of their hospital stay, according to research presented Monday at the American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, Florida.
The radiation comes from tests such as computed tomography (CT) scans, cardiac catheterizations, and artery-clearing angioplasties.
Too much radiation can increase the risk of developing some cancers, although the benefits of such tests typically outweigh the risks when it comes to diagnosing and treating heart attacks. The cancer risk associated with an angioplasty or with a CT scan -- which delivers about 500 times more radiation than an X-ray -- is hard to measure.

Patients shouldn't be afraid to ask their doctor if a test is truly necessary. "There's nothing wrong with patients asking their doctor, 'How will this test change what you do for me?' If it doesn't, that test may not be necessary."

Routine Mammograms Should Start At 50 Not 40 Says US Expert Panel

An independent medical expert panel that advises the US federal government on preventive and primary healthcare recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years and suggests instead that the decision to start regular screening before the age of 50 should be an individual one.The recommendation, dated November 2009, comes from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a leading independent panel of private-sector experts in prevention and primary care, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) which is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The full statement with supporting documents is available on the AHRQ website.

The USPSTF recommends against routine screening mammography for women under the age of 50 and that for women younger than this the decision to have mammograms every two years should be an individual one that takes into account the patient's individual context, including "the patient's values regarding specific benefits and harms".

The main reason for raising the age band from 40 to 50 comes from a new systematic review that incorporates a randomized controlled trial that showed the risk reduction from screening is greater for women aged 50 to 59 than for those aged 40 to 49. The USPSTF said that the trial estimated that the "number needed to invite for screening to extend one woman's life as 1904 for women aged 40 to 49 years and 1339 for women aged 50 to 59 years", and although the relative risk reduction is nearly the same for the two age groups, risk for breast cancer rises steeply from age 40 onwards, thus the absolute risk reduction from screening as shown by the number that would have to be invited, is greater for those aged 50 to 59 than for women aged 40 to 49.In their new Screening for Breast Cancer statement the USPSTF also recommends:
Regular biennial screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74. Only 40 percent of the lives saved by mammographic screening are of women aged 40 - 49.

LFCHD hosting two H1N1 vaccination clinics Nov. 7

After providing more than 1,600 H1N1 shots last Saturday to kids with chronic health conditions, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is now turning its attention to the remaining target groups.

LFCHD will host H1N1 vaccination clinics 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (or until the vaccine runs out) Saturday, Nov. 7, at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, 1600 Man O’ War Blvd., and Bryan Station High School, 201 Eastin Road. The shots will be free.

The clinics will target high-risk priority groups identified by the CDC:
• pregnant women
• people between the ages of 6 months through 24 years
• people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age
• people ages 25-64 with chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems
• health care and emergency services personnel.

Anyone with a fever Saturday or with egg allergies cannot get the shot.

Additional clinics in November will also target the priority groups, while those who live or work in Fayette County will be focused on during December clinics. The clinics will be held based on availability of the vaccine and could be rescheduled or postponed if there are any delays on the vaccine’s shipment. The health department will post the latest updated information on the clinics on its Flu Hotline, 288-7529, and online at www.LexFluCrew.com.

All H1N1 shots provided by the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department will be free.

For additional information, become a fan of the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/LFCHD.