Ultrasound Activates Nanoparticle Aggregates for Selective Drug Delivery
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed a nanoparticle aggregate system that releases a drug when it is dispersed using ultrasound. This means that it can be used to deliver toxic chemotherapy drugs directly to a tumor while reducing side-effects in healthy tissues.
Normally, many tumors are treated using chemotherapy drugs that travel throughout the entire body and cause lots of side-effects, such as hair-loss and nausea. Researchers have been working to develop highly specific drug delivery systems that limit the drug to the immediate surroundings of the tumor.
This new technique consists of chemotherapy...
Source: Medgadget - June 19, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Nanomedicine Oncology Source Type: blogs
A new study sheds light on “chemobrain”
By Christian Jarrett
After chemotherapy treatment, many patients say their mind has been affected. For example they describe symptoms such as feeling confused, memory problems and difficulty concentrating – a phenomenon that has been dubbed “chemobrain” (Cancer Research UK has more information).
The causes are little understood. Are these apparent neuropsychological effects due to a direct physical effect of chemotherapy on the brain? Or could it be the stress and worry involved in chemotherapy that is responsible. Perhaps it’s both. To find out more, Mi Sook Jung at Chungnam National University in Sout...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - June 19, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Brain Cancer Cognition Health Source Type: blogs
Mother and Daughter Dynamic Duo: Fighting For Women ’s Health Equality
This essay was first published on MsMagazine.com.
For decades, my mom and I have been a dynamic duo using the arts to creatively fight for women’s rights. And now we are using the arts to fight for my life.
In the ’60-70s, during the burgeoning “Women’s Liberation Movement,” my mother, Bobbi Ausubel, co-wrote America’s first feminist play, How to Make a Woman. After each performance, cutting edge and ruckus consciousness raising groups helped women and men grapple with just how much gender roles dictated their lives.
As a little girl, I couldn’t care less. I played with my toys under the adults...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - June 8, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Thyroid Testing — Is your doctor missing something?
Similar to the gas pedal in your car, the thyroid controls the “speed” of your metabolism. It fine-tunes the function of virtually every tissue in the body, from the lowly cells responsible for creating fingernails to the nerve cells in the brain that guide memory and thought.
Your thyroid hormone level has to be just right. Too high and you are anxious and lose weight despite eating like a horse. Too low and no matter how meticulous your diet or how many calories you cut back, you fail to lose weight or gain weight. Just right and your efforts are rewarded by natural weight loss when nutrition is managed properly. Thy...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - May 30, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Thyroid disease Undoctored Wheat Belly Lifestyle energy fatigue healthcare insomnia Weight Loss Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, May 22nd 2017
In this study, researchers analysed data of millions of British patients between 1995 and 2015 to see if this claim held true. They tracked people who were obese at the start of the study, defined as people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, who had no evidence of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes at this point. They found these people who were obese but "metabolically healthy" were at higher risk of developing heart disease, strokes and heart failure than people of normal weight.
No such thing as 'fat but fit', major study finds
Several studies in the past have sug...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 21, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Suggesting Mitochondrial Dysfunction Contributes to Age-Related Hair Loss
Researchers here investigate declining mitochondrial function in the context of hair growth, suggesting that age-related mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the causes of loss of hair in later life. Lower levels of - and less efficient - mitochondrial activity is implicated in a number of age-related diseases, especially those of the brain, where correct function requires large amounts of the energy store molecules produced by mitochondria. There appear to be several processes at work, ranging from mitochondrial DNA damage thought important in the SENS view of aging to a general and broader mitochondrial malaise that might...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 18, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, May 15th 2017
Fight Aging! provides a weekly digest of news and commentary for thousands of subscribers interested in the latest longevity science: progress towards the medical control of aging in order to prevent age-related frailty, suffering, and disease, as well as improvements in the present understanding of what works and what doesn't work when it comes to extending healthy life. Expect to see summaries of recent advances in medical research, news from the scientific community, advocacy and fundraising initiatives to help speed work on the repair and reversal of aging, links to online resources, and much more.
This content is...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 14, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
An Exploration of Mechanisms of Hair Greying, but not Yet Linked to Aging
This research is an example of the way in which both the mainstream press and research publicity materials are sometimes quite terrible. The researchers involved have explored some of the cellular biochemistry that is necessary to the pigmentation of hair. They demonstrate, as you might expect, that sabotaging these mechanisms results in grey hair. What they have not yet accomplished is to show that aging has an impact on the specific mechanisms examined in this research. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. While the research looks like a promising lead, all things considered, age-related graying of hair might well be caused ...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 10, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
The legal system must change to protect doctors
Anyone watching daytime or late-night cable TV has to notice that every third commercial is for a toxic tort. As my wife had breast cancer, one, in particular, caught my eye. In it, the claim was made that: “If you suffered from permanent hair loss due to chemotherapy, you might have a claim because less toxic treatment was available.” This struck a chord with me because my wife was in that transition period between traditional chemotherapy and newer biologic treatments. I remember my wife’s oncologist saying that as of that moment, traditional chemo was still the standard of care, but the newer treatment...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 14, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/thomas-d-guastavino" rel="tag" > Thomas D. Guastavino, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Malpractice Source Type: blogs
Putting the Human in Human Services
Healing is a journey that may begin with a diagnosis and ideally, end with a positive outcome. The twists and turns that accompany it could be dizzying. In the case of Ondreah Johnson, RN who I have written about in previous articles, the voyage began when she detected a lump in her breast on Christmas night, 2016. She is open to considering it “another gift.”
As a home care nurse, she was accustomed to being the one offering the advice and instruction to her patients for most of her professional career that spans 37 years. Matter of fact medical care blended with compassion, has been her way. She is good at w...
Source: World of Psychology - March 12, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW Tags: Health-related Industrial and Workplace Personal Policy and Advocacy Professional Psychotherapy Stories Research Bedside Manner Compassion healthcare human services Social Services Source Type: blogs
Chemo Without Losing Your Hair!?!?
I had heard about these when I was in chemo -cooling caps to prevent hair loss. They were knew and being tested and not really available. Now new research shows that wearing a cooling cap seems to prevent hair loss for most patients during chemo for breast cancer. Sounds easy doesn ' t it? No pills, no real side effects. I could wear a hat during chemo easy, peasy.I think (based on what I have heard and am not sure I remember all the details correctly) that patients wear a cooling cap during their chemo session and then keep it on for another 45 minutes or so. Small studies have shown that women who wear the cooling cap, l...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - February 15, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer treatment hair side effects Source Type: blogs
A Sizable Portion of the Damage of Chemotherapy may be due to Cellular Senescence
Now that much more attention and funding is turning to cellular senescence as a cause of aging, a fair number of new discoveries are being made regarding the specific links between age-related disease and the growing presence of senescent cells in old tissues. Some of them seem almost obvious in hindsight, connections that researchers should have long assumed to be likely, such as senescent foam cells accelerating the progression of atherosclerosis. Now that senescent cells can be cleared effectively in the laboratory, proof of these connections is comparatively simple to obtain, and so the evidence is piling up month afte...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 13, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Sinus headache or sign-us up for a migraine consultation
In conclusion, if you suffer from frequent sinus headaches, there is a good chance that you are actually experiencing migraines. Making the correct diagnosis and formulating an appropriate treatment plan can reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches, as well as avoid unnecessary testing, visits to specialists, and taking medicines that are not actually treating the problem.
The post Sinus headache or sign-us up for a migraine consultation appeared first on Harvard Health Blog. (Source: Harvard Health Blog)
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Paul G. Mathew, MD, FAAN, FAHS Tags: Brain and cognitive health Headache Source Type: blogs
Why do patients accept chemotherapy, but not flu shots?
Fall brings school buses, a freshening breeze and an avalanche of meetings. There are seasonal sales, myriad projects and the splendor of colored leaves. The season is also announced, again and again, by a particular peculiar and perilous decision, which, no matter how much I try, I do not fully understand. Frankly, I just don’t get it.
“Jane, it is time to start chemotherapy.”
“What are the side effects?”
“Well, this is powerful chemotherapy. It is necessary to cure your cancer. It will cause hair loss. It will cause a drop in your blood counts. It might cause severe diarrhea. There might be numbne...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 1, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/james-c-salwitz" rel="tag" > James C. Salwitz, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Medications Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, September 19th 2016
In conclusion, we found that IS status was associated with a significant increase in Hannum DNA methylation, likely as a consequence of the accumulation of cardiovascular risk factors, and near signification with Horvath method. Patients with IS were biologically older than controls, a difference that was more obvious in young stroke. This could open up the possibility of useful new biomarker of stroke risk.
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A Profile of Kelsey Moody and Ichor Therapeutics
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2016/09/a-profile-of-kelsey-moody (Source: Fight Aging!)
Source: Fight Aging! - September 18, 2016 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
