Investigating the Secrets of Cancer-Causing Viruses
Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Mandy Muller.
While she was in graduate school, Mandy Muller, Ph.D., became intrigued with viruses that are oncogenic, meaning they can cause cancer. At the time, she was researching human papillomaviruses (HPVs), which can lead to cervical and throat cancer, among other types. Now, as an assistant professor of microbiology at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst, Dr. Muller studies Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), which causes the rare AIDS-associated cancer Kaposi sarcoma.
A Continental Change
Dr. Muller has come a long way, both geographically and professionally, s...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 1, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Infectious Diseases Microbes Profiles RNA Viruses Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, March 20th 2023
This study also provides the potential for de novo generation of complex organs in vivo.
T Cells May Play a Role in the Brain Inflammation Characteristic of Neurodegenerative Conditions
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2023/03/t-cells-may-play-a-role-in-the-brain-inflammation-characteristic-of-neurodegenerative-conditions/
Alzheimer's disease, and other forms of neurodegenerative condition, are characterized by chronic inflammation in brain tissue. Unresolved inflammatory signaling is disruptive of tissue structure and function. Here, researchers provide evidence for T cells to become involved in thi...
Source: Fight Aging! - March 19, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Reprogramming Tumor Cells into Antigen-Presenting Cells
Today's research materials describe a clever approach to cancer immunotherapy, focused on the goal of enabling the immune system to better identify cancerous cells. In the past, researchers have made some inroads in training the immune system to attack specific target molecules characteristic of cancerous cells, but this is a slow and expensive process when progressing from single target to single target. Further, any given cancer might be capable of evolving to function without exhibiting any one specific target molecule, and only some cancers of a particular type will exhibit that specific signature molecule to start wit...
Source: Fight Aging! - March 13, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Cardiac tumours
Cardiac tumours are most often secondaries from malignancies of breast, lung or malignant melanoma. Primary tumours of the heart are most often benign, of which about half are myxomas. Malignant primary tumours of the heart contribute to about a quarter of the primary cardiac tumours. The commonest primary malignant tumour of the heart would be a sarcoma [1]. Cardiac tumours may present with cardiovascular or constitutional symptoms. Sometimes they are incidentally detected on echocardiography or other imaging modalities.
Left atrial myxoma on echocardiogram
Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging can give addi...
Source: Cardiophile MD - August 25, 2022 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, July 4th 2022
This study showed that centenarians had very specific changes in CD4+ T cell populations, which were manifested by an elevated Th17/Treg ratio in vivo, as well as a changed secretory phenotype. Although the T cells of centenarians cannot resist the aging-related expression of proinflammatory genes, their secretory phenotype was altered, explaining the relatively low level of inflammation in centenarians. These results suggested the presence of a mechanism to ameliorate inflammaging in centenarians. This may be achieved by reversing the imbalance of Th17/Treg cells and reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Longevit...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 3, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
How One Type of Tumor Converts Innate Immune Cells to its Cause
We examined the cross-talk between these two populations of cells. We found that the tumor cells expressed high levels of a protein called macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), and that the myeloid cells had receptors to sense the MIF proteins. This makes them switch their biology and promote, rather than block, tumor growth." The investigators believe this information could be used to create novel therapies against soft-tissue sarcoma. A medication designed to stop cancer cells from expressing MIF could be tested in combination with existing therapies, for example, to see if it improves outcomes for patients.
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Source: Fight Aging! - June 28, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
A story of a good death
Just over seven years ago, on April 22nd, my father heralded his 88th birthday with a thoracentesis to drain the fluid from his lungs. On May 3rd, less than two weeks later, he died, due to a blockage in his abdomen leading to sepsis, most likely from two 20-plus-year-old sarcoma surgeries. Between these events, heRead more …A story of a good death originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - May 27, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/carol-ewig" rel="tag" data-wpel-link="internal" > Carol Ewig < /a > < /span > Tags: Patient Hospital-Based Medicine Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
We grieve alone
This morning we took Peekaboo, our 14-year-old kitty with an inoperable sarcoma, to the vet clinic for the last time.
She’s in a happier place now, so I hope, at least. A place with no pain.
Stefano and I grieve alone.
Those of our friends who don’t have animals in their lives just don’t understand our grief…they don’t understand the intense love that we have for our furry companions. And yet losing a cat can be as difficult as losing a human companion, according to this Cornell University article: https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/heal...
Source: Margaret's Corner - May 28, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll grief loss of a cat Source Type: blogs
Time flies
Well, many things have happened in the past month or so, except for finding the time…well, okay, to be honest, except for finding the desire to write a post (yes, I’m, still at a bit of a standstill there, unfortunately…not sure why…oh well).
But everything else is, well, stable, or as stable as it can be, which is positive.
Peekaboo, however, gave us a BIG scare about two weeks ago. I really thought she was on her way…out. Actually, in retrospect, it’s kind of a funny story (?), so here goes…
One morning I noticed that Peekaboo wasn’t responsive. She hadn’t come down t...
Source: Margaret's Corner - April 9, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll Source Type: blogs
Peekaboo
Well, about two weeks ago we received the sad but expected news that Peekaboo has an inoperable and malignant nasal tumor located on the left side of her face, the side that has become deformed. The vets refer to it as a sarcoma.
Because of her age (she’s almost 14 years old) and other factors, the vets and Stefano and I are in agreement: we’ll do nothing, except monitor her and (try to) make sure she’s not in pain (although it’s very difficult to figure out if a cat is in pain or not)…
I’ve begun giving her curcumin, mixed in with her wet food, but it’s way too early (just a few d...
Source: Margaret's Corner - March 1, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll feline nasal cancer feline sarcoma Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, October 19th 2020
In conclusion, we found that regardless of the presence of multimorbidity, engaging in a healthier lifestyle was associated with up to 6.3 years longer life for men and 7.6 years for women; however, not all lifestyle risk factors equally correlated with life expectancy, with smoking being significantly worse than others.
A Hydrogel Scaffold to Encourage Peripheral Nerve Regeneration
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2020/10/a-hydrogel-scaffold-to-encourage-peripheral-nerve-regeneration/
The nervous system of mammals is poorly regenerative at best. The use of implantable scaffold materials is one of th...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 18, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Using CRISPR to Remove Mutated Sequences of Nuclear DNA Required by Cancerous Cells
Fusion genes feature in many cancers, a form of mutation in which two genes are joined together, such as through deletion of the DNA sequences that normally separate the two genes. The resulting mutant fusion gene sequence encodes a fusion protein that can have novel effects, or in which both portions remain functional, but are now produced in at inappropriate times and in inappropriate amounts. This change in cell biochemistry can be important in driving cancerous behavior, and this appears to be the case in a meaningful fraction of cancer types.
Today's research materials discuss a clever use of CRISPR DNA editing...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 16, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, August 24th 2020
We report that electrical stimulation (ES) stimulation of post-stroke aged rats led to an improved functional recovery of spatial long-term memory (T-maze), but not on the rotating pole or the inclined plane, both tests requiring complex sensorimotor skills. Surprisingly, ES had a detrimental effect on the asymmetric sensorimotor deficit.
Histologically, there was a robust increase in the number of doublecortin-positive cells in the dentate gyrus and SVZ of the infarcted hemisphere and the presence of a considerable number of neurons expressing tubulin beta III in the infarcted area. Among the genes that were unique...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 23, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
TREM2 Inhibition as a Potentially Broadly Effective Cancer Therapy
It remains the case that far too much of the extensively funded work on cancer therapies is only relevant to a tiny subset of cancers. This is no way to achieve success in the fight to control cancer: there is only so much funding, only so many researchers, and too many types of cancer for an incremental strategy to make earnest process over the next few decades. The important lines of research into cancer treatments are those that can in principle be applied to many (or preferably all) cancers, and that are in principle highly effective, such as inhibition of telomere lengthening. The ideal cancer therapy is one that can ...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 20, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
The patient who gave me back my humanity
His breathing was rapid and shallow; O2 in place, his eyes stared at the ceiling of the hospital room. He was a soldier in his late 20s, his once strong body now emaciated, a shell of its former self. His arms rested on top of the bedsheet, bluish nodular lesions of Kaposi ’s sarcoma landscaping them […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - May 4, 2020 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/andy-lamb" rel="tag" > Andy Lamb, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician COVID-19 coronavirus HIV/AIDS Hospital-Based Medicine Infectious Disease Source Type: blogs
