Yoga eases the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome

A simple yoga program — no drugs, no expensive equipment and no surgery — was better than conventional treatment at reducing pain and improving the hand strength of patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, according to a new study at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School.
Common among computer users, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a potentially debilitating nerve disorder of the hand usually caused by repetitive motion, like typing. It results from pressure on the median nerve, which controls sensations in the thumb, index and middle fingers. The condition can be so painful that many sufferers cannot use their affected hand.

The randomized, single blind, controlled study included a yoga group and a group who only received wrist splints, the most common form of treatment. The yoga group took a 1.5 hour class twice a week. They performed simple postures designed to take each joint of the upper body through its full range of motion, stretching, strengthening and aligning the hands, wrists, arms and shoulders. After eight weeks, the yoga group had significantly less pain and greater hand strength, whereas the control group experienced no significant reduction in pain or increase in hand strength.

The postures used in the program included:

1. Staff pose (dandasana) — sit on chair, trunk upright, press hands into chair, press shoulder blades into back, move shoulders back and down.

2. Prayer position — press palms and fingers together, stretch and bend fingers.

3. Arms overhead (urdhva hastasana) — Lift arms over head, keep arms straight and shoulders down

4. Arms overhead, fingers interlocked (parvatasana) — Same as above, clasp fingers, turn palms upward.

5. Chair twist — sit sideways in chair with right side against back of chair. Place hands on back of chair, twist to the right using hands for additional support. Repeat on other side.

6. Mountain (tadasana).

7. 90 degree forward bend to wall — Stand with feet about hip width apart, raise arms over head, bend at hips bringing hands to rest on wall.

8. Arms overhead with hands in prayer position — Stand in tadasana, raise arms to Tee position, urn palms up, then rotate arms in small circles, first forward then back. Lift arms straight overhead, join hands in prayer position, stretch up and look up at hands.

9. Dog pose with chair — Stand, feet hip width apart, facing the seat of a chair. Bend, placing palms on seat, shoulder width apart. Straighten arms and lift waist, hips and knees a few inches above the chair. Turn arms out and curve trunk back between them. Bring coccyx, sacrum and lumbar spine forward, keeping buttocks tight. Stretch front of body from the pubis. Raise sternum and ribs. Hold shoulders back. Press shoulder blades and dorsal spine in.

10. Hands in prayer behind back — Stand in tadasana, bring palms together behind back, fingers pointing up down. Turn fingers up and raise as high as possible between the shoulder blades.

11. Relaxation

Each posture should be held for about 30 seconds.

From “Yoga-based intervention for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A randomized trial,” by M. Garfinkel, A. Singhal, W. Katz, et al, in The Journal of the American Medical Association, November 11, 1998.

New Study Shows Yoga Can Ease Back Pain

New Study Shows Yoga Can Ease Back Pain

by Jessica Cox

If you are practicing yoga, you may not know what you are missing in terms of back pain, stress and anxiety. However thousands of Americans suffer from back pain every day. If you happen to know one of them, consider passing along a bit of new information that might help them:

A new back pain study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health showed better results with yoga than conventional therapeutic exercise or information alone.

“The study suggests that for people who are looking to do something for themselves, you could clearly say that yoga is the best,” says Karen Sherman, an epidemiologist and researcher with Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, and the lead author of the study.

The study compared 101 adults with chronic lower back pain. One group tried conventional therapeutic exercise taught by a physical therapist. Another took weekly classes in viniyoga, a yoga style focusing on safety and therapeutic benefits. The third group studied a popular back pain book, “The Back Pain Helpbook.”

At the end of the 12 week study, the yoga group showed far more increased function than the other two groups in tasks like walking up stairs without pain or bending over to tie their shoelaces. The yoga group and needed less pain medications as well. Your yoga practice could be saving you trips to the doctor and the pharmacy even now.

Viniyoga is an ancient Sanskrit term that implies differentiation, adaptation, and appropriate application. This highly personalized style adapts the various means and methods of practice to the unique condition, needs and interests of the individual, according to the American Viniyoga Institute.

This approach evolved out of the teachings transmitted by T. Krishnamacharya and T.K.V. Desikachar of Madras, India, and incorporate many dimensions of teaching and practice, including asana, pranayama, bandha, sound, chanting, meditation, personal ritual and textual study.

Breathing was mentioned as an important aspect of yoga by the study’s lead author. Since yoga breathing practices make people conscious of their body’s movement, it can also make them aware of unnatural movement patters which can contribute to their back problems. Be sure not to overlook this aspect of your yoga practice.

The study also highlights the importance of a good yoga instructor and a studio environment for best results. So if you’ve been using mainly DVDs and booklets, now might be the time to consider joining a studio. The group reading the Back Pain Helpbook actually increased their medication usage.

Kate Lorig, one of the co-authors of “The Back Pain Helpbook” and the director of the Stanford Patient Education Research Center, underscored the need for proper instruction rather relying on written directions.

“We have long known that in most cases giving people information alone is not enough to change either health behaviors or health status,” she says. “I would never expect a book alone to make much difference.”

Calm Comes Full Circle: Using Meditation to Enhance Yoga

by Laurie Desjardins

Meditation and yoga are natural compliments to each other. Yoga is an active, physical way to prepare the mind for meditation. Meditation relaxes the mind and body, preparing them for the physical demands of yoga. Together they form a circular relaxation technique that can renew the mind, body and spirit completely.

Getting the most out of your yoga routine

To get the most out of your yoga routine, take a few minutes and meditate to center yourself before you begin. If you’re new to yoga, this will focus your mind and help you slip into those first yoga poses more easily.

Already got the hang of those tricky postures? Starting your yoga sessions with a new meditation technique can keep you from getting in a rut and help you reach new levels of concentration during your poses.

Pre-meditated yoga

One great way to jump-start your yoga routine is to begin with powerful but quick object focus meditation. Choose a meditation tool, like the Zen StickT, that will engage as many senses as possible.

A meditation tool that looks beautiful, gives you something to touch, and can produce a rhythmic sound sooths tired senses. You’ll forget all about the over-stimulating world around you and relax into a perfect meditative state.

More ideas for combining meditation and yoga

The same simple but effective meditation technique is a lifesaver when you’re learning new, more challenging yoga poses or working to perfect old ones.

If you’re getting frustrated or your mind is wandering during a particular pose, take a meditation break. Grab your meditation tool, and spend five minutes re-centering yourself and getting in tune with your natural rhythms.
When you return to your yoga posture, your mind will be clear, your body more limber, and your frustrations long gone.

A relaxing cycle

Meditation is achieved most quickly when multiple senses are engaged by a single focal point. Find a meditation tool that will engage your senses, and you’ll find yourself achieving deeper focus and a more peaceful state of mind during yoga as well.

Laurie Desjardins is the creator of Zen Sticks, an eco-friendly meditation tool available at www.SleepingTiger.org. For years Laurie has been dedicated to preserving nature while helping people find peace and tranquility in their personal environment. A portion of all proceeds earned through Zen Stick sales are used to support My Brothers’ Keeper, Laurie’s tiger sanctuary.

Your Highest Potential with Yoga

By Jen Blackert

Are you living your divine potential? I mean that person inside of you? Are you fully expressing your inner being?

No? Why do you think that is?

Is it some other event, resource or person? Something outside of you that is holding you back? Is it lack of time? Maybe it’s an education, money or health for that matter? These thoughts of lack could go on and on. Gee. Gosh are you focusing on lack more than abundance?

Could it possibly be that you have something inside you that is dying to express your potential, but you are afraid to let it out? Often times instead of facing the reality and being 100% responsible for our lives, we hide from ourselves and blame others. We begin to only see our weakness and not our strengths. Our focus goes to what not all peaches and cream.

Whatever it is may be holding you back, try these steps to uncover your inner potential.

Step 1: Ask questions of yourself: What would happen if I let out your true self-expression, talents, and core being? But what do you think it is? What do you think you are you afraid of? Is it a loss of security or safety? Could it be love? Maybe it’s recognition?

Step 2: Begin ‘Whying it.’ Sounds strange I know, here’s an example of how it works.

Example:
The obstacle: I fear success
Why?
I am afraid of being thought of as a fraud
Why?
Because I don’t want to be a fraud <— This is the fear, not fear of success.

Step 3: This is where yoga fits in! In fact, if it wasn’t for yoga I don’t know if I ever would of uncovered some of the huge blocks that were holding me back. Yoga transforms. It uncovers our greatness. It prevents us from tearing ourselves down.

Practice self-acceptance and self-love of this obstacle and let it go on the mat. Here’s how.

At the beginning of your yoga class, sometimes the teacher will ask you to set an intention. This time you are going to set the intention for ‘becoming authentically whole and always truthful.’ You see this is the opposite of ‘I don’t want to be a fraud.’ All through practice remind yourself of how ‘authentically whole and truthful’ you are. Then in savasana (corpose pose) at the end of class, embody and completely feel that intention absorbing you. Lastly, after class set an intention to take an action that would move you forward to overcome any your obstacle. By making an intention and focusing on it for an extended time, it allows us to let go and move on.

Of Yoga and Sharks

by Rob Stewart

My name is Rob Stewart. I’ve recently completed a feature film entitled Sharkwater, a documentary about man’s relationship with sharks that was filmed in 15 countries over a period of 4 years. It is a conservation film that details the plight of the oceans, revealing sharks to be vitally important for life on earth.

Sharkwater began as a beautiful underwater movie that aimed to portray sharks in a more positive light, but through the epic journey the film evolved into, we faced corrupt governments, espionage, arrests, attempted murder charges, pirate battles, and hospitalizations, all in an attempt to bring people to a greater understanding of our connection and dependence upon the natural world.

Since childhood I’ve used my yoga and pranayama practice to freedive (breath hold diving ) so that I could lower my heart rate and metabolism so that I could film sharks. As a biologist and photographer, I witnessed the destruction of the oceans first hand, driving the creation of Sharkwater.

Sharkwater started out as a grass roots project, in conjunction with conservation groups such as Wildaid and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and has gained momentum. Sharkwater launched at the Toronto International Film Festival, winning one of the top ten films in Canada this year, and has gone on to win 10 prestigious awards, including numerous “people’s choice” awards at some of the biggest festivals in the world. Audiences are really responding well to the film. It’s the most award winning documentary release this year. Sharkwater hits theatres across Canada March 23th, 2007.

Please have a look at the trailer, and website, www.sharkwater.com.

We’re living at a crossroads, where human’s survival on the planet is in jeopardy. Fortunately, we have the ability to change, and support a new relationship with the natural world. This film has the power to start the movement, so please join us in seeing the film opening weekend, and increase the chances that the message will be heard, and that sharks, the oceans, and humans, can survive on the planet. I am incredibly grateful for your support.

Stay tuned to Everything Yoga in the coming months for a podcast interview where I will discuss some of my effective yoga positions that have help me dive with sharks.

Rob Stewart, born in Toronto, Canada, is an award-winning wildlife photographer and the director of Sharkwater.

Stewart began photographing underwater when he was 13. He became a certified scuba instructor trainer at age 18, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Western Ontario, and has studied Marine Biology and Zoology at universities in Kenya and Jamaica.

Stewart spent four years traveling the world as the chief photographer for the Canadian Wildlife Federation magazines, and has logged thousands of hours underwater, using the latest in rebreather and camera technologies.

His work underwater and on land has appeared in nearly every media form worldwide, from BBC Wildlife, Asian Diver, Outpost and GEO magazines to the Discovery Channels, ABC, BBC, night clubs and feature films.

Sharkwater has won 15 international awards and has brought the attention of the world to the horrendous environmental crimes and wasteful practices of shark finning. Sharkwater made its theatrical debut in Canada this year and broke all Canadian documentary box office records. As writer, director, and producer of Sharkwater, Stewart was recently presented with the Peter Benchly award for shark conservation. Stewart continues to shed light on unsustainable fishing practices and ocean conservation.

What is HIV AIDS?

What is HIV AIDS?

To answer the question what is HIV AIDS, we have to start early in the epidemic. In 1985, scientists discovered the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and with it the question what is aids was answered. HIV is a virus that is transmitted from person to person through the exchange of body fluids such as blood, semen, breast milk and vaginal secretions. Sexual contact is the most common way to spread HIV AIDS, but it can also be transmitted by sharing needles when injecting drugs, or during childbirth and breastfeeding. As HIV AIDS reproduces, it damages the body’s immune system and the body becomes susceptible to illness and infection. There is no known cure for HIV infection.

WHAT DOES “AIDS” MEAN?

WHAT DOES “AIDS” MEAN?

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome:

• Acquired means you can get infected with it;
• Immune Deficiency means a weakness in the body’s system that fights diseases.
• Syndrome means a group of health problems that make up a disease.

AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. If you get infected with HIV, your body will try to fight the infection. It will make “antibodies,” special molecules to fight HIV.

A blood test for HIV looks for these antibodies. If you have them in your blood, it means that you have HIV infection. People who have the HIV antibodies are called “HIV-Positive.” Fact Sheet 102 has more information on HIV testing.

Being HIV-positive, or having HIV disease, is not the same as having AIDS. Many people are HIV-positive but don’t get sick for many years. As HIV disease continues, it slowly wears down the immune system. Viruses, parasites, fungi and bacteria that usually don’t cause any problems can make you very sick if your immune system is damaged. These are called “opportunistic infections.” See Fact Sheet 500 for an overview of opportunistic infections.

HIV AIDS

HIV steht für die englische Bezeichnung “Human Immunodeficiency Virus” (= menschliches Immunschwäche-Virus).

Das ist das Virus, das Aids verursacht. HIV unterscheidet sich von den meisten anderen Viren dadurch, dass es das Immunsystem angreift. Das Immunsystem ermöglicht unserem Körper, Infektionen zu bekämpfen. HIV sucht und zerstört eine Gruppe weisser Blutkörperchen (T-Zellen oder CD4-Zellen), die das Abwehrsystem zur Bekämpfung von Infektionen benötigt.

Struktur des “Human Immunodeficiency Virus”, mit freundlicher Genehmigung des NIAID.

Aufbau eines HI-Virus.

Aids

Aids steht für die englische Bezeichnung “acquired immunodeficiency syndrome” (= erworbenes Immundefektsyndrom).

Aids ist das Endstadium einer HIV-Infektion. Selbst ohne Behandlung kann es Jahre dauern, bis eine HIV-infizierte Person dieses Stadium erreicht. Aids haben bedeutet, dass das Virus das körpereigene Abwehrsystem soweit geschwächt hat, dass es dem Körper schwer fällt, Infektionen zu bekämpfen. Wenn jemand von einer oder mehreren spezifischen Infektionen befallen ist, bestimmte Krebsarten oder eine sehr geringe Anzahl von T-Zellen hat, gilt er oder sie als aidskrank.

Elektronenmikroskop-Bild des HI-Virus, sichtbar als kleine Kugeln an der Oberfläche weisser Blutkörperchen.

HIV test

HIV tests are used to detect the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus in serum, plasma, saliva, or urine.

Such tests may detect HIV antibodies, antigens, or RNA.

In the United States, a number of HIV test kits have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for diagnosis, prognostic determination, patient monitoring, and screening of blood and tissue donors.The specific tests used may vary from country to country.

As of 2006, the standard HIV tests used in the U.S.

are extremely accurate..

For more information about the topic HIV test, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Blood test — Blood tests are laboratory tests done on blood to gain an appreciation of disease states and the function of organs. Since blood flows throughout the … > read more

Hepatitis B — Originally known as serum hepatitis, hepatitis B has only been recognized as such since World War II, and has caused current epidemics in parts of … > read more

T cell — T cells are a subset of lymphocytes that play a large role in the immune response. The abbreviation “T” stands for thymus, the organ in which their.

Advanced Liquid Logic Receives $5.2 Million NIH Contract For HIV Diagnostics

Advanced Liquid Logic announced that it has received a large, four-year contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, for the development of a rapid, point-of-care, diagnostic device for the detection of HIV in low resource settings.

Advanced Liquid Logic co-founder and the HIV study’s Principal Investigator Michael Pollack said, “Our substantial developmental progress and the promise of a sample-to-answer solution in molecular diagnostics made this award possible. Molecular diagnostics is a great application for digital microfluidics because the technology is uniquely positioned to provide highly complex testing capability in a compact and easy to use instrument.”

Advanced Liquid Logic will award a major subcontract to principal investigators Thomas Denny and Georgia Tomaras, Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI), to support the development of viral load and antibody measurements and field trials. Thomas Denny, said, “This is an exciting opportunity to work toward development of an accurate and affordable test for use in monitoring HIV/AIDS patients in resource challenged areas.”

In recent years HIV/AIDS treatment medications have become more available globally but many areas of the world lack access to reliable treatment monitoring. “Pending successful development, the application of this new technology in low income countries could mean the difference between life and death for many people,” said Michael Merson, director of the Duke Global Health Institute. “This is yet another example of an exciting, innovative technology originating at Duke.”

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHSN272200900030C.

About Advanced Liquid Logic, Inc.

Advanced Liquid Logic was founded to develop and exploit a new technology for micro-liquid-handling called digital microfluidics which was pioneered at Duke University. Small droplets are flexibly manipulated electrically under software control to perform even the most complex liquid-based testing. Portable equipment without pumps, valves, or pipes is used in conjunction with a disposable lab-on-a-chip. Advanced Liquid Logic is developing its first commercial products for the research and clinical diagnostics markets.

Use Of Antiretrovirals Increases Among African Pregnant Women, Children With HIV/AIDS, U.N. Report Says

The number of HIV-positive pregnant women taking antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission increased in parts of Africa in 2008 to more than 50% of those in need of the medications, according to the United Nations’ 2009 progress report on HIV/AIDS, the Boston Globe reports. The report found that the number of people tested for HIV more than doubled in many countries in 2008, contributing to an increase in detection and the number of people taking antiretroviral drugs in the developing world. U.N. said in its report that more than four million people worldwide are taking medication for HIV/AIDS. Mark Stirling, U.N.’s regional director for HIV/AIDS in Africa, said there was a “huge ramping up of AIDS services” between 2007 and 2008. He added, “It’s unprecedented. In the acceleration and intensification of reach, 2008 was an extraordinary year” (Dugger, Boston Globe, 10/1).

Teguest Guerma, the interim HIV/AIDS director for the World Health Organization, said the “greatest gains” were in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for two-thirds of HIV cases. According to Guerma, about 2.9 million people in the area were receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS by the end of 2008 (Wilson, “All Things Considered,” NPR, 9/30). According to the Globe, a large-scale international effort to fight AIDS — financed by the U.S., European countries and other donors — helped ensure that more African children with HIV received antiretroviral drugs. The number of children taking the medications rose from 198,000 in 2007 to 275,700 in 2008.

The report also found that 2.7 million new cases of HIV occurred in 2007, the most recent year for which estimates are available. Many African countries in 2008 began the framework for programs to broadly offer male circumcisions, which can lower the risk of HIV, the report noted. However, leaders need to be more outspoken about the benefits of circumcision and about how having multiple long-term sexual partners contributes to the epidemic, according to the report (Boston Globe, 10/1).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women’s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

Opinions: Bridging The Divide To Stop The Spread Of HIV; Ending Future World Hunger

“With less than half the people who need treatment having access and with each day more people becoming infected with HIV than are started on treatment, we are mortgaging our future. But we are also exposing a fundamental social injustice – between the privileged and the forsaken – a divide we can bridge,” Michael Sidibe, the executive director of UNAIDS, writes in a Daily Nation opinion piece. Although an “acceptable vaccine is not yet ready,” Sidibe writes that we should “prepare today for tomorrow” and “learn from the lessons of the AIDS response thus far.”

He outlines three challenges that need to be tackled. “The first challenge is access and affordability … The second challenge is creating the conditions for massive uptake of an effective vaccine … The third challenge is in creating health systems capable of delivering the vaccine.” According to Sidibe, “The world needs a strong HIV prevention campaign that is grounded in human rights. It is high time to end discrimination, bad laws, and harmful social norms that fuel HIV transmission” (9/30).

‘Political Will’ Needed To Prevent Future World Hunger

“The food shortages – and even food riots – seen around the world in recent years could become a more common occurrence by 2050 if steps aren’t taken now,” according to a Christian Science Monitor editorial examining the recent International Food Policy Research Institute report. “The good news is that the suffering caused by climate change can be avoided if nations take action now. They can afford an extra $7 billion per year [the amount suggested in the report]. But the problem could easily slip to the bottom of the priority list given the far-off nature of the threat. Political will, above all, is required,” the editorial concludes (9/30).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

HIV/ AIDS: A Burden To The Society- Philadelphia

HIV/AIDS, through its direct impact on the human body, paralyses the physical condition, psychological morbidity and destroys social value. It also wipe out three things, such as it affects adults in their productive prime period, severely hampers economic growth of person, and hampers his family, at last by rotation; and, thus, it causes severe set backs to the nation’s effects for progress. HIV and AIDS have a negative effect on the economic growth. Without proper nutrition, health care and medicine large number of people are falling victims of AIDS.Distinguishing between short-term and long-term effects of AIDS on families, however, requires longitudinal data on family characteristics both preceding and following the illness and death of a family member. Studies show the longitudinal data from rural Malawi, 1998-2008, to assess the effects of the AIDS epidemic on the elderly. Different countries from the West, the South and the East of Africa were touched upon. The number of HIV victims and the number of AIDS casualties differ greatly between all African Nations.Families and communities break apart and young people’s future becomes insecure. The manufacturing sector, transport, mining, construction, tourism and the financial sector will be hit in various ways. Families may withdraw young girls from school to care for ill family members with HIV. Older women often shoulder the burden of care when their adult children fall ill.

In another study, infection rates in Thailand remained under 3 percent and condom use among commercial sex workers went from 14 percent in 1988 to 93 percent in 1997. Infected intravenous drug users also transmit the virus through the blood of a shared syringe or other drug paraphernalia. The virus can also be transmitted during a blood transfusion with contaminated blood.Effects of HIV Infection

HIV infection weakens the immune system and people who are co-infected with syphilis may not always be able to fight off this infection. Indeed, some researchers have reported that people with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) who have syphilis appear to have a more aggressive form of the infection than HIV negative people. HIV is not easily passed through oral sex. However, bleeding gums, sores in the mouth, or cum in the mouth can increase your chances of HIV infection.

Dimension Of Evaluation

It is not always easy to learn from experience, but it is certainly possible. To increase the likelihood of such learning requires the advance planning of evaluations as well as the precise, controlled execution of programs.

Depression Doesn’t Halt the Uprising of Natural Products

As a consumer in a world of clever branding and marketing, one ought to know the facts to make an informed decisions about the products you buy. Many people are beginning to use natural and organic personal care products. These products are promising a way of cleansing your body using natural minerals and ingredients. Thus, avoiding the harsh chemicals used in everyday personal care products. The natural ingredients found in these natural products are said to promote the natural healing process of the body.

The U.S. natural health and beauty care market will reach sales of $12 billion in 2014 as reported by a market research company located in New York. Even with last year’s depressing economy, the natural products market grew 8% and near $7 billion dollars; this is fairly strong compared with the dip some other markets have taken in the past year.

The natural personal care market is projected to continue its steady climb as safety concerns, disease outbreaks like H1N1, pollution, global warming, green campaigns, health advocates, and a generally increased awareness of what we are putting on or in our bodies.

There has been concern that exposure to certain chemicals found in shampoos and soaps may be doing damage our nervous system. Especially at risk are the fetus of pregnant women, as the baby may be at rusk for abnormal brain development.

These chemicals are said to block the communication between neurons, and thus impairs the normal functioning of the brain.

There seem to be continuous reports about chemicals found in everyday products that are related to cancer or some neurological dysfunction. Yet, every week, more and more of these products are advertised and sold.

As a consumer, one should know the facts and the truth behind these products. This way you can make an informed decision about whether to buy name brand shampoos or natural shampoos. With all the relevant information available, one can make the right decision that is best.

Celera Presents Data Replicating Its Immunodiagnostic Assay To Detect Lung Cancer From Blood Serum

Celera Corporation (NASDAQ:CRA) announced yesterday the presentation of data replicating its novel mass spectrometry-based approach to identify and validate circulating protein biomarkers that detect non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in an independent cohort of individuals with lung cancer. This study was performed in collaboration with scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center, NY. A key outcome of the study was the validation of a 9 biomarker immunoassay on a cohort of samples that is enriched for stage I disease, important for screening of early stage disease. The assay detected lung cancer with 92% sensitivity at 93% specificity. The panel also accurately distinguished malignant cases from benign lung disease. The data is being presented at the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer as part of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) in San Francisco, CA.

This study confirms the performance of a 9 member biomarker panel previously presented at the 100th Annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference in April 2009. In addition, the authors report the high performance of a 6 marker panel derived from the 9 marker panel which distinguishes malignant cases with 92% sensitivity at 88% specificity. Celera expects to continue the evaluation of the clinical utility of both the 6 and 9 marker panels in an effort to determine which panel would offer optimal performance in a broad clinical setting.

“This is one of the most promising assays I’ve seen as a predictor of non-small cell lung cancer,” said Harvey I. Pass, M.D., Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Director of Thoracic Surgery and Oncology at the New York University Langone Medical Center and its NYU Cancer Institute. “Such a test with this accuracy, if validated prospectively in other larger cohorts, may impact the management of individuals with presumed or diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer in the future.”

“The Early Disease Research Network initiative of National Cancer Institute is committed to identifying a biomarker test for early detection of lung cancer that demonstrates robust performance,” said William N. Rom M.D., M.P.H., the Sol and Judith Bergstein Professor of Medicine and Environmental Medicine at the New York University Langone Medical Center. “The work from this collaboration has resulted in a very promising set of biomarkers that warrant continued study. Such a test could potentially provide clinically useful information for physicians and their patients.”

“We’re pleased to see the performance confirmed in an independent cohort since we believe this assay presents a robust test to detect lung cancer using a simple blood test,” said Steve Ruben, Ph.D., Vice President of Proteomics at Celera. “We believe the ability to identify a collection of biomarkers, which we have subsequently shown to be elevated in the blood of non-small cell lung cancer patients relative to appropriate controls, presents an opportunity to detect the disease earlier, enabling more effective intervention and monitoring. This test in combination with helical CT imaging may increase the predictive value of these tests over CT alone. We’re exploring the commercial opportunities for this program as we continue our efforts to validate these findings in a clinical setting.”

A panel of 9 candidate biomarkers capable of distinguishing lung cancer serum samples from normal samples was previously identified. In the current study, these biomarkers were measured in an independent collection of samples that included: 39 subjects with NSCLC; 33 of which are stage I or II; 38 non-cancer smoking controls; 20 COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, emphysema and/or chronic bronchitis) subjects, which is one group of several benign lung diseases often seen in smokers; and 20 subjects with Ground Glass Opacity who continue to be followed to determine which of these patients may progress to malignant disease.

The 9 marker panel demonstrated a significantly high level of performance in distinguishing malignant lesions from a control population that included smokers and patients with COPD, showing 92% sensitivity at 93% specificity.

Study details

The study included 13 candidate biomarkers from a larger set of markers that had been selected from approximately 500 proteins previously identified by a proteomic discovery effort. These biomarkers were used to test serum specimens using ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay) methods in a preliminary validation set of sera comprising 103 patients with NSCLC and 104 healthy smoker controls who were matched for age, gender and smoking history. This set of markers includes examples novel to the mass spectrometry discovery effort that have not previously been reported to be elevated in the blood of lung cancer patients. Markers that showed elevated disease expression were then validated in sera from 39 individuals with NSCLC, 38 non-smoking controls and 20 subjects COPD.

The test panels that were configured detected lung cancer with favorable sensitivity and specificity to those previously reported (J Clin Onc. 2007, 25: 5578-5582; J Thorac Oncol. 2006, 1: 513-519; Clin Cancer Res. 2008, 14: 1355-1362). This panel and others described in the study are expected to provide the flexibility to design tests with performance specifications suitable for a variety of diagnostic applications, such as screening individuals at risk for lung cancer and for monitoring of disease following diagnosis and treatment.

Biomarkers and Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the U.S. accounting for about 29% of all cancer deaths that occurred in 2008 (Cancer J Clin, 2008; 58:71-96). Currently, there are no guidelines for screening of individuals at risk for lung cancer, and current biomarkers are used only for monitoring of disease following diagnosis and treatment. Novel biomarker panels with improved performance, such as the one described in the current study, may have value at various stages in the detection and diagnosis of lung cancer, which includes independent screening for high risk individuals, and/or for subsequent CT analysis used in combination with imaging technologies to improve resolution of malignant nodules. Such a panel could also be used to improve the monitoring of lung cancer progression by enhancing the management of pulmonary nodules that are identified through CT scanning.

Genes Identified May Help Breast Cancer Diagnosis

The research team, which also included colleagues from Nottingham and Cambridge universities and King’s College London, are identifying and studying genes which control whether a cell lives or dies.

They found that the survival rate for patients with a low expression of a gene known as Fau, a tumour suppressor, is twice as bad as for people with normal levels, while a high expression of cancer-causing gene MELK has a similar effect.

Professor Gwyn Williams, who has been working on the study for 20 years, said he was excited by the discovery, published in the journal Breast Cancer Research, as it had clear real world relevance.

“Our ongoing research is about finding the genes which may go wrong in people with cancer,” he said. “Genetic changes give hints to where to target therapy and can also help diagnose cancer.”

“When you know enough about genes like these you could carry out a general screening of people who might be at risk. This is not an overnight solution but in the next 20 years I would like to see our knowledge of Fau and MELK being used in more practical areas.”

Research teams will now study the two genes in greater depth to identify their uses in diagnosis. The findings may also prove significant in ovarian and prostate cancer research.

New iPhone App ‘Outbreaks Near Me’ Locates H1N1 (Swine Flu), Infectious Diseases

The application, “Outbreaks Near Me,” builds upon the mission and proven capability of HealthMap, an online resource that collects, filters, maps and disseminates information about emerging infectious diseases, and provides a new, contextualized view of a user’s specific location – pinpointing outbreaks that have been reported in the vicinity of the user and offering the opportunity to search for additional outbreak information by location or disease.

Additional functionality of Outbreaks Near Me is the ability to set alerts that will notify a user on their device or by e-mail when new outbreaks are reported in their proximity, or if a user enters a new area of activity.

“We hope individuals will find the new app to be a useful source of outbreak information – locally, nationally, and globally,” says HealthMap co-founder John Brownstein, PhD, assistant professor in the Children’s Hospital Informatics Program (CHIP). “As people are equipped with more knowledge and awareness of infectious disease, the hope is that they will become more involved and proactive about public health.”

The new application also features an option for users to submit an outbreak report. This will enable individuals in cities and countries around the world to interact with the HealthMap team and participate in the public health surveillance process. Users may take photos – of situations and scenarios of, and/or leading to, disease – with their iPhone and submit them to the HealthMap system for review and eventual posting as an alert on the worldwide map.

“This is grassroots, participatory epidemiology,” says HealthMap co-founder Clark Freifeld, a PhD student at the MIT Media Lab and research software developer at CHIP. “In releasing this app we aim to empower citizens in the cause of public health, not only by providing ready access to real-time information, but also by encouraging them to contribute their own knowledge, expertise, and observations. In enabling participation in surveillance, we also expect to increase global coverage and identify outbreaks earlier.”

HealthMap was founded in 2006 and mines the Internet – searching disparate data sources such as news reports, curated personal accounts, official alerts, blogs and chat rooms – to track and map infectious disease outbreaks. While the data have been shown to provide early information on new outbreaks, users are encouraged to interpret the data appropriately as it is drawn from both official and unofficial sources.

Swine Flu

Influenza viruses infect cells by attaching to bead-like molecules on the outside of the cell, called receptors. Different viruses attach to different receptors, and if a virus cannot find its specific receptors, it cannot get into the cell. Once inside the cell, the virus uses the cell’s machinery to make thousands more viruses, which then burst out of the cell and infect neighbouring ones, establishing an infection.

Seasonal influenza viruses attach to receptors found on cells in the nose, throat and upper airway, enabling them to infect a person’s respiratory tract. Today’s research, which was funded by the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, shows that pandemic H1N1 swine flu can also attach to a receptor found on cells deep inside the lungs, which can result in a more severe lung infection.

The pandemic influenza virus’s ability to stick to the additional receptors may explain why the virus replicates and spreads between cells more quickly: if a flu virus can bind to more than one type of receptor, it can attach itself to a larger area of the respiratory tract, infecting more cells and causing a more serious infection.

Professor Ten Feizi, a corresponding author of today’s paper from the Division of Medicine at Imperial College London, said: “Most people infected with swine-origin flu in the current pandemic have experienced relatively mild symptoms. However, some people have had more severe lung infections, which can be worse than those caused by seasonal flu. Our new research shows how the virus does this – by attaching to receptors mostly found on cells deep in the lungs. This is something seasonal flu cannot do.”

The researchers found that pandemic H1N1 influenza bound more weakly to the receptors in the lungs than to those in the upper respiratory tract. This is why most people infected with the virus have experienced mild symptoms. However, the researchers are concerned that the virus could mutate to bind more strongly to these receptors.

“If the flu virus mutates in the future, it may attach to the receptors deep inside the lungs more strongly, and this could mean that more people would experience serious symptoms. We think scientists should be on the lookout for these kinds of changes in the virus so we can try to find ways of minimising the impact of such changes,” added Professor Feizi.

The researchers compared the way seasonal and pandemic H1N1 flu viruses infect cells by identifying which receptors each virus binds to. To do this, the researchers used a glass surface with 86 different receptors attached to it, called a carbohydrate microarray. When viruses were added to the glass surface, they stuck to their specific receptors and the corresponding areas on the plate ‘lit up’. This meant the researchers could see which receptors the different viruses attached to.

Pandemic H1H1 influenza could bind strongly to receptors called ?2-6, which are found in the nose, throat and upper airway, and it could also attach more weakly to ?2-3 receptors, which are found on cells deeper inside the lungs. However, seasonal H1N1 influenza could only attach to ?2-6.

“Receptor binding determines how well a virus spreads between cells and causes an infection,” said Professor Feizi. “Our new study adds to our understanding of how swine-origin influenza H1N1 virus is behaving in the current pandemic, and shows us changes we need to look out for.”

Daily Dose of Broccoli Halts Ulcers and Cancer

Eating just a few ounces of broccoli each day may significantly reduce a person’s risk of ulcers and stomach cancer, researchers from Johns Hopkins University have found.

In a study published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, scientists assigned 50 people in Japan to eat either 2.5 ounces of broccoli sprouts or 2.5 ounces of alfalfa sprouts each day for two months.

Broccoli, a cruciferous vegetable, contains high levels of the protective phytochemical sulforaphane. Alfalfa is not a cruciferous vegetable and contains no sulforaphane.

At the beginning and end of the study, the researchers analyzed participant stool samples for a chemical called HpSA, known to be a reliable marker of infection with the Heliobacter pylori bacterium. H. pylori causes chronic inflammation of the stomach lining, significantly increasing the risk of stomach cancer and duodenal or stomach ulcers.

While 25 to 30 percent of people in the United States carry the bacteria in their stomachs, 80 percent show no symptoms of the infection. Infection rates are much higher in Japan, at nearly 90 percent, due in part to crowding.

The researchers found that among those who ate broccoli sprouts, HpSA levels decreased 40 percent by the end of the experiment. Participants were then told to stop eating broccoli sprouts. After another two months, HpSA levels had returned to pre-study levels.

Consumption of alfalfa sprouts had no effect on HpSA levels.

“H. pylori is a known carcinogen,” Fahey said. “The fact that we were able to reduce the effects of an infectious agent that is also a carcinogen gives us hope that if someone were to eat broccoli sprouts or broccoli regularly, it would reduce levels of H. pylori and, over a period of many years, reduce the chance that they would get that cancer. It is not proven, but the results are highly suggestive.”

The researchers also found that inflammation levels in the stomach were reduced by consumption of broccoli sprouts.

“The fact that the levels of infection and inflammation were reduced suggests the likelihood of getting gastritis and ulcers and cancer is probably reduced,” Fahey said.

“The evidence is all pointing toward broccoli or broccoli sprouts being able to prevent cancer in humans.”

The researchers believe that much of broccoli’s protective benefit comes from its high levels of sulforaphane. In addition to functioning as an antibiotic, this chemical stimulates the body to reduce a number of enzymes with different health benefits. Prior research has shown that some of these enzymes protect the skin from sun damage, while others act to reduce inflammation or prevent heart disease.

In a second experiment, the same team of researchers fed H. pylori-infected mice either plain or broccoli-sprout smoothies for eight weeks. They then examined the animals’ stomachs for levels of H. pylori. Infection levels had not changed in mice drinking water, but were significantly reduced in the broccoli group. When the researchers genetically engineered another group of mice for inability to activate certain protective enzymes, however, a diet of broccoli-sprout smoothies had no effect on H. pylori infection.

Synthetic Hormones May Be Linked to Lung Cancer Deaths

According to researchers, women using synthetic hormones may have an increased chance of dying from lung cancer. Findings from the Women`s Health Initiative indicate that the use of Prempro, a synthetic estrogen coupled with a synthetic form of progesterone, can lead to a 59 percent increased risk of death if a woman develops non small-cell lung cancer. This was revealed by Dr. Rowan Chlebowski of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

A study showed that for non small-cell lung cancer, there was a significant risk of dying if the women taking these synthetic hormones developed cancer.

There were 67 lung cancer deaths in the women taking Prempro and 39 among those in the placebo group, according to Chlebowski. The women taking the synthetic hormones had a median survival rate of 9.4 months while the survival rate of the women who took the placebo and got the disease was 16.1 months.

This recent analysis regarding Prempro and lung cancer deaths was taken from data stemming from the Woman`s Health Initiative study in which Chlebowski was lead author. This study enrolled 16,608 postmenopausal women ages 50 through 79 and randomly assigned these women either a placebo or Prempro. In 2002, researchers stopped this study short of its completion because they noted a significant increased incidence of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease among the women who took the synthetic hormones.

Acording to Chlebowski, 15 percent of postmenopausal women still take synthetic hormones.

A hormone is classified as synthetic if it does not have the identical structure as is found in the human body. When a synthetic hormone is taken into the body, the body metabolizes it differently than it would a natural hormone. This difference may account for the many grave side effects women who take synthetic hormones encounter.

Fortunately, natural hormones do exist and have been used by holistic physicians for many years. Natural hormones have an identical structure as those found in the human body and are used to effectively treat menopause symptoms. Natural hormones are available in creams, capsules, patches, and other system delivery methods. Before prescribing natural hormones, the holistic practitioner will test a woman’s present hormone level through blood, urine, and saliva testing. The holistic physician will prescribe bioidentical hormones based on these findings. Bioidentical hormones are those identical in molecular structure to the hormones made by the woman’s body.

Traditional doctors are trained by the big drug companies to prescribe medicine manufactured by them. These drug companies are against natural remedies as natural remedies cannot be patented. Since these traditional doctors are in allegiance with the pharmaceutical companies, the physicians too, often turn their minds off to the notion of natural hormones. In light of the negative press about synthetic hormones as reported in the study conducted by the Women’s Health Initiative, more traditional doctors are now willing to look at the use of natural hormones. These doctors, however, represent a growing, but still woefully small number.

Menopause occurs when the ovaries stop producing significant amounts of estrogen and progesterone. This leads to a cessation of the menstrual cycle, and in many women begins with symptoms such as hot flashes. The average woman will experience the onset of menopause at age 52. A woman is considered to be in menopause if she has had no periods for a year. Menopause is not a disease even though some women suffer, often for years, from some of the following symptoms:
Hot flashes
Vaginal dryness
Mood swings
Night sweats
Insomnia
Reduced libido
Weight gain
Urinary incontinence

Treatment for menopausal symptoms includes eating a diet rich in plant foods, especially whole grains, legumes, fresh vegetables and fruits. These foods contain phytosterols that have a hormone-balancing effect. Eating these foods also increases fiber that helps a heart stay healthy.

In addition, eating hormone-free animal products helps guard against a hormone imbalance in the body. Reduce red meat consumption and other sources of saturated fat. Caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods, and sugar aggravate hot flashes while carbonated drinks deplete calcium from the body.

The following remedies may help to safely minimize symptoms:
St. John’s wort may be used to treat mild to moderate depression. This should not be used in conjunction with prescription antidepressants.

Soy and Isoflavones are plant estrogens that may be helpful in relieving hot flashes and night sweats.

Black cohosh has been used to relieve hot flashes and night sweats.

American ginseng has been found to improve a woman’s sense of well being.

Cause of Cancer is Known in Lab Animals

It’s difficult to understand medical establishment claims that the cause of cancer and other diseases is unknown, when these diseases are easily created in lab rats by injecting pesticides and chemicals into them.

Dr. Sherry Rogers explains, “They merely give rats one dose of a common organic pesticide to cause Parkinson’s disease in them! Scientists use the same recipe to create cancer in rats for research. They give them one dose of a pesticide or related chemical.”

Incidentally, these pesticides and chemicals are the same ones that humans consume in the food supply and are regularly exposed to in the environment.

The confusion comes from the fact that this really isn’t complicated science or mathematics. For all the touted and presumed intelligence in the medical establishment, this isn’t a tricky one. It’s more like 2 plus 2. But in this 2 plus 2, the answer isn’t 4. It’s routinely ignored and discredited.

Pesticides and chemicals induce cancer in lab animals, and humans are regularly exposed to these same chemicals. But, what causes cancer in humans? Um, we don’t know, but those pesticides and chemicals certainly didn’t do it. Is this really the answer the medical establishment expects us to believe? All so we can be sold more chemicals, under the false delusion that they too, will cause us no harm? Even when our hair falls out and our bodies atrophy to waste, we’re supposed to believe that those chemicals are good for us and will create health in our bodies?

Even more than the medical establishment, which has an enormous profit motive in having people believe such nonsense, the American people need a wake up call. Folks, it’s 6am and your wake up call is here. Chemicals in your body from food and environmental sources are pretty much never a good thing. They cause problems in humans, just as they do in lab rats. Because before your friendly researcher can test a medical establishment drug on a rat, first that researcher needs to create the disease, and they very well know how to do that – making the assertion that they don’t know the cause of the disease is a little more than absurd.

An enormous part of the problem is that the government agency that regulates the food supply and that determines which chemicals are allowed in it (and which are not) is largely funded by the pharmaceutical industry. And pharmaceutical companies only make money when people are sick. In recent years, the fact that the FDA makes decisions based on the interests of the pharmaceutical companies, instead of the American people, has been brought to light on many occasions – including by the FDA’s own scientists.

Brain Tumor

A brain tumor is an abnormal growth of cells within the brain or inside the skull, which can be cancerous or non-cancerous (benign).

It is defined as any intracranial tumor created by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, normally either in the brain itself (neurons, glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells), lymphatic tissue, blood vessels), in the cranial nerves (myelin-producing Schwann cells), in the brain envelopes (meninges), skull, pituitary and pineal gland, or spread from cancers primarily located in other organs (metastatic tumors).

Primary (true) brain tumors are commonly located in the posterior cranial fossa in children and in the anterior two-thirds of the cerebral hemispheres in adults, although they can affect any part of the brain.

Brain Tumor
Classification and external resources
Brain metastasis in the right cerebral hemisphere from lung cancer shown on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging with intravenous contrast. (L=left, P=posterior, back of the head)
ICD-10	C71., D33.0-D33.2
ICD-9	191, 225.0
DiseasesDB	30781
MedlinePlus	007222 000768
eMedicine	emerg/334
MeSH	[1]

In the United States in the year 2005, it was estimated there were 43,800 new cases of brain tumors (Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, Primary Brain Tumors in the United States, Statistical Report, 2005–2006),^[1] which accounted for 1.4 percent of all cancers, 2.4 percent of all cancer deaths,^[2] and 20–25 percent of pediatric cancers.^[2][3] Ultimately, it is estimated there are 13,000 deaths per year in the United States alone as a result of brain tumors.^[1]

Contents [hide] 1 Signs and symptoms 2 Diagnosis 3 Treatment and prognosis 3.1 Research to treatment with the vesicular stomatitis virus 4 Brain tumors in infants and children 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of brain tumors may depend on two factors: tumor size (volume) and tumor location. The time point of symptom onset in the course of disease correlates in many cases with the nature of the tumor (”benign”, i.e. slow-growing/late symptom onset, or malignant, fast growing/early symptom onset) is a frequent reason for seeking medical attention in brain tumor cases.

Large tumors or tumors with extensive perifocal swelling edema inevitably lead to elevated intracranial pressure (intracranial hypertension), which translates clinically into headaches, vomiting (sometimes without nausea), altered state of consciousness (somnolence, coma), dilatation of the pupil on the side of the lesion (anisocoria), papilledema (prominent optic disc at the funduscopic examination). However, even small tumors obstructing the passage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may cause early signs of increased intracranial pressure. Increased intracranial pressure may result in herniation (i.e. displacement) of certain parts of the brain, such as the cerebellar tonsils or the temporal uncus, resulting in lethal brainstem compression. In young children, elevated intracranial pressure may cause an increase in the diameter of the skull and bulging of the fontanelles.

Depending on the tumor location and the damage it may have caused to surrounding brain structures, either through compression or infiltration, any type of focal neurologic symptoms may occur, such as cognitive and behavioral impairment, personality changes, hemiparesis, hypesthesia, aphasia, ataxia, visual field impairment, facial paralysis, double vision, tremor etc. These symptoms are not specific for brain tumors—they may be caused by a large variety of neurologic conditions (e.g. stroke, traumatic brain injury). What counts, however, is the location of the lesion and the functional systems (e.g. motor, sensory, visual, etc.) it affects.

A bilateral temporal visual field defect (bitemporal hemianopia—due to compression of the optic chiasm), often associated with endocrine disfunction—either hypopituitarism or hyperproduction of pituitary hormones and hyperprolactinemia is suggestive of a pituitary tumor.

[edit] Diagnosis

Micrograph of an oligodendroglioma, a type of brain cancer. Brain biopsy. H&E stain.

Although there is no specific clinical symptom or sign for brain tumors, slowly progressive focal neurologic signs and signs of elevated intracranial pressure, as well as epilepsy in a patient with a negative history for epilepsy should raise red flags. However, a sudden onset of symptoms, such as an epileptic seizure in a patient with no prior history of epilepsy, sudden intracranial hypertension (this may be due to bleeding within the tumor, brain swelling or obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid’s passage) is also possible.

Glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma have been associated in case reports on PubMed^[who?] with the genetic acute hepatic porphyrias (PCT, AIP, HCP and VP), including positive testing associated with drug refractory seizures. Unexplained complications associated with drug treatments with these tumors should alert physicians to an undiagnosed neurological porphyria.

Imaging plays a central role in the diagnosis of brain tumors. Early imaging methods—invasive and sometimes dangerous—such as pneumoencephalography and cerebral angiography, have been abandoned in recent times in favor of non-invasive, high-resolution modalities, such as computed tomography (CT) and especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Benign brain tumors often show up as hypodense (darker than brain tissue) mass lesions on cranial CT-scans. On MRI, they appear either hypo- (darker than brain tissue) or isointense (same intensity as brain tissue) on T1-weighted scans, or hyperintense (brighter than brain tissue) on T2-weighted MRI. Perifocal edema also appears hyperintense on T2-weighted MRI. Contrast agent uptake, sometimes in characteristic patterns, can be demonstrated on either CT or MRI-scans in most malignant primary and metastatic brain tumors. This is because these tumors disrupt the normal functioning of the blood-brain barrier and lead to an increase in its permeability.

Electrophysiological exams, such as electroencephalography (EEG) play a marginal role in the diagnosis of brain tumors.

The definitive diagnosis of brain tumor can only be confirmed by histological examination of tumor tissue samples obtained either by means of brain biopsy or open surgery. The histological examination is essential for determining the appropriate treatment and the correct prognosis. This examination, performed by a pathologist, typically has three stages: interoperative examination of fresh tissue, preliminary microscopic examination of prepared tissues, and followup examination of prepared tissues after immunohistochemical staining or genetic analysis.

Another possible diagnosis would be neurofibromatosis which can be in type one or type two.

[edit] Treatment and prognosis

Many meningiomas, with the exception of some tumors located at the skull base, can be successfully removed surgically. In more difficult cases, stereotactic radiosurgery, such as Gamma knife, Cyberknife or Novalis Tx radiosurgery, remains a viable option.^[4]

Most pituitary adenomas can be removed surgically, often using a minimally invasive approach through the nasal cavity and skull base (trans-nasal, trans-sphenoidal approach). Large pituitary adenomas require a craniotomy (opening of the skull) for their removal. Radiotherapy, including stereotactic approaches, is reserved for the inoperable cases.

Although there is no generally accepted therapeutic management for primary brain tumors, a surgical attempt at tumor removal or at least cytoreduction (that is, removal of as much tumor as possible, in order to reduce the number of tumor cells available for proliferation) is considered in most cases.^[5] However, due to the infiltrative nature of these lesions, tumor recurrence, even following an apparently complete surgical removal, is not uncommon. Several current research studies aim to improve the surgical removal of brain tumors by labeling tumor cells with a chemical (5-aminolevulinic acid) that causes them to fluoresce ^[6]. Postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy are integral parts of the therapeutic standard for malignant tumors. Radiotherapy may also be administered in cases of “low-grade” gliomas, when a significant tumor burden reduction could not be achieved surgically.

Survival rates in primary brain tumors depend on the type of tumor, age, functional status of the patient, the extent of surgical tumor removal, to mention just a few factors.^[7]

UCLA Neuro-Oncology publishes real-time survival data for patients with this diagnosis. They are the only institution in the United States that shows how brain tumor patients are performing on current therapies. They also show a listing of chemotherapy agents used to treat high grade glioma tumors.

Patients with benign gliomas may survive for many years,^[8][9] while survival in most cases of glioblastoma multiforme is limited to a few months after diagnosis if treatment is ignored.

The main treatment option for single metastatic tumors is surgical removal, followed by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Multiple metastatic tumors are generally treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), such as Gamma Knife, Cyberknife or Novalis Tx, radiosurgery, remains a viable option. However, the prognosis in such cases is determined by the primary tumor, and it is generally poor.

Radiotherapy is the most common treatment for secondary cancer brain tumors. The amount of radiotherapy depends on the size of the area of the brain affected by cancer. Conventional external beam whole brain radiotherapy treatment (WBRT) or ‘whole brain irradiation’ may be suggested if there is a risk that other secondary tumors will develop in the future.^[10] Stereotactic radiotherapy is usually recommended in cases of under three small secondary brain tumors.

In 2008 a study published by the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center indicated that cancer patients who receive stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) for the treatment of metastatic brain tumors have more than twice the risk of developing learning and memory problems than those treated with SRS alone.^[11][12]

A shunt operation is used not as a cure but to relieve the symptoms.[2] The hydrocephalus caused by the blocking drainage of the cerebrospinal fluid can be removed with this operation.

[edit] Research to treatment with the vesicular stomatitis virus

In 2000, researchers at the University of Ottawa, led by John Bell PhD., have discovered that the vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV, can infect and kill cancer cells, without affecting healthy cells if coadministered with interferon. ^[13]

The initial discovery of the virus’ oncolytic properties were limited to only a few types of cancer. Several independent studies have indentified many more types susceptible to the virus, including glioblastoma multiforme cancer cells, which account for the majority of brain tumors.

In 2008, researchers artificially engineered strains of VSV that were less cytotoxic to normal cells. This advance allows administration of the virus without coadministration with interferon. Consequently administration of the virus can be given intravenously or through the olfactory nerve. In the research, a human brain tumor was implanted into mice brains. The VSV was injected via their tails and within 3 days all tumor cells were either dead or dying.

Research on virus treatment like this has been conducted for some years, but no other viruses have been shown to be as efficient or specific as the VSV mutant strains. Future research will focus on the risks of this treatment, before it can be applied to humans.^[14]

[edit] Brain tumors in infants and children

A brain-stem glioma in four year old. MRI sagittal, without contrast

In the US, about 2000 children and adolescents younger than 20 years of age are diagnosed with malignant brain tumors each year. Higher incidence rates were reported in 1975–83 than in 1985–94. There is some debate as to the reasons; one theory is that the trend is the result of improved diagnosis and reporting, since the jump occurred at the same time that MRIs became available widely, and there was no coincident jump in mortality. The CNS cancer survival rate in children is approximately 60%. The rate varies with the type of cancer and the age of onset: younger patients have higher mortality.^[15]

In children under 2, about 70% of brain tumors are medulloblastoma, ependymoma, and low-grade glioma. Less commonly, and seen usually in infants, are teratoma and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor.^[16] Germ cell tumors, including teratoma, make up just 3% of pediatric primary brain tumors, but the worldwide incidence varies significantly.

Patients’ Pretreatment Quality Of Life Can Predict Overall Lung Cancer Survival

For those with advanced stage NSCLC, the median overall survival varies between six and 12 months, with approximately one-third of patients surviving past the one year mark. To better understand the factors that predict the overall survival of patients with NSCLC, various research has been done in the past to determine whether or not pretreatment quality of life can help predict overall survival, but yielding conflicting results. To provide a more definitive answer on this question, Yingwei Qi, M.D., M.S., of the Mayo Clinic Rochester in Minnesota, and a team of researchers conducted a pooled analysis of research from six different clinical trials, representing 420 patients overall.

The researchers found that patients’ self-assessment of their pretreatment quality of life, measured by the single-item Spitzer Uniscale, can alone predict overall survival, and that for those with a low score, the risk of death was twice as high as for those with high scores.

“This research shows conclusively that, even when we adjust for variables, how patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer rate their quality of life with the Uniscale tool prior to treatment can predict their overall survival rate,” says Dr. Qi. “With the knowledge that quality of life is an independent prognostic factor, doctors will be better able to use this tool in patient assessment to provide more accurate prediction of overall survival.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among both men and women in the United States, and NSCLC accounts for 80 percent of all lung cancer cases.

Why Don’t Brain Tumors Respond To Medication?

Malignant brain tumors often fail to respond to promising new medication. Researchers in Heidelberg have discovered a mechanism and a tumor marker for the development of this resistance. A “death receptor” can possibly provide information as to how great the chances of success are for chemotherapy. At the same time, it offers a new approach for promising brain tumor therapy.

Dr. Wolf Müller, senior consultant in the Neuropathology Department at the Institute of Pathology of Heidelberg University Hospital, and his team were able to show that certain brain tumors (astrocytomas) can deactivate a crucial protein on their cell surface, the so-called death receptor. The medication docks onto this receptor and causes the cells to die. An intact “death receptor” can thus serve as a tumor marker for whether or not a therapy has a chance of success. The study was conducted with funding from the Tumor Center of Heidelberg/Mannheim and was published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Primary brain tumors that develop from brain cells, in particular their most malignant variant the glioblastoma, have a very poor prognosis. Although various kinds of therapies are attempted, patients with a glioblastoma usually die within two years of diagnosis. The researchers are thus working at high speed to become more familiar with the biology of these tumors in order to develop more efficient treatment.

“Death receptor” can be switched on and off

The researchers in Heidelberg examined various primary brain tumors (astrocytomas, which also include glioblastomas) and discovered that the gene for the death receptor DR4 was switched off in up to 75 percent of cases by what is known as “promoter methylation”. This means that methyl groups accumulate at the segment of the gene that is crucial for its activity (expression). The gene’s information can thus no longer be read, the gene is silenced.

The death receptor DR4 is an attractive target for receptor-specific therapy. Fortunately, an already-existing drug, Mapatumumab, an antibody protein, binds directly to the receptor and can trigger the death of the cell. This drug is currently being tested in a number of clinical studies (Phase II) for other solid tumors, e.g. lung cancer.

New approach for a specific therapy for brain tumor cells

For gliomas, treatment with Mapatumumab appears to be particularly interesting as the death receptor is usually found only on tumor cells, not on other brain cells. Since glioma growth is especially invasive into brain tissue, surgical removal is impossible and chemotherapy is very difficult. Chemotherapy with Mapatumumab could reach all tumor cells and kill them while sparing healthy brain cells without receptors.

In cell culture trials, the researchers have already been successful in reversing methylation and making the “death receptors” functional again – tumor cells reacted to the drugs and died off. If gene expression was again suppressed, the cells became resistant again.

“Therapies that are capable to switch on specific individual genes by these manipulations do not yet exist. But being aware of the tumor markers can point the way for the development of new therapies whose goal is gene manipulation,” explained Dr. Wolf Müller. Targeted examinations of tumor tissue prior to therapy can now make it possible to identify patients with an intact death receptor. These patients have good conditions for benefiting from the promising therapy, while other patients would at least be spared the side effects of useless treatment.

Narrow-band Imaging Increases Specificity Of Early Lung Cancer Detection

Past research has shown detection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) while still localized to the surface of the lung can improve cure rates. Bronchoscopic technologies that utilize white light (WLB), auto-fluorescence imaging (AFI) and narrow-band imaging (NBI) have been developed to enhance the ability for physicians to diagnoses NSCLC at a pre-invasive stage. NBI is the newest of these technologies.

To confirm the efficiency of these new technologies, Felix J.F. Herth, M.D. of the Department of Pneumology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and his team of researchers conducted a 10-month review of patients in need of airway screening and surveillance. Patients were randomized into groups receiving WFB, AFI or NBI bronchoscopies and any observed abnormal airway mucosa was biopsied.

Out of 57 patients, 30 percent were diagnosed with intraepithelial neoplasia. Researchers found that those observed with NBI and AFI bronchoscopies experienced significantly superior sensitivities compared to WLB alone. NBI also proved to provide high levels of specificity compared to AFI.

“This research shows that when diagnosing early stage lung cancer, using NBI may be a better option than AFI because it increases specificity without compromising sensitivity,” said Dr. Herth. “Continued research on these detection methods is necessary to further understand the best, most accurate ways to increase early diagnosis in lung cancer.”

New Target For Treating Breast Cancer Metastasis

Breast cancer metastasis causes nearly 90% of the lethality among breast cancer patients. Non-metastatic breast cancer cells rely on interactions with other cells and the extracellular matrix to survive. Metastatic breast cancer cells must survive in the absence of these interactions.

Harvey et al hypothesized that Brk, a tyrosine kinase expressed predominantly in breast tumors compared with normal breast tissue, plays a role in breast cancer progression by promoting anchorage independence. Indeed, high-grade tumors from human breast cancer patients expressed elevated levels of Brk when compared with lower grade tumors. Inhibiting Brk expression resulted in cell death in the absence of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, and tumor cells with increased levels of Brk expression survived without these interactions. These data therefore support a role for Brk in breast cancer progression and dissemination.

Dr. Harvey and colleagues suggest “that Brk plays a role in protecting breast cancer cells from detachment-induced cell death. Therefore, Brk expression in carcinomas may confer a survival advantage on metastasizing tumor cells. … [Future studies will examine] whether this function is manifest in other Brk-positive tumor cells from tissues other than the breast, such as the colon and prostate.”

Gene Assay To Help To Predict Lung Cancer Treatment Resistance

Ian Cree, from Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, UK, led a team of researchers who assessed the chemosensitivity of a series of 49 NSCLC tumors and compared this with quantitative expression of putative resistance genes measured by RT-PCR. He said, “There was considerable heterogeneity between tumors, and while this showed no direct correlation with individual gene expression, there was strong correlation of multi-gene signatures for many of the single chemotherapy agents and combinations tested. This may allow the definition of predictive signatures to guide individualized chemotherapy in lung cancer”.

The researchers tested docetaxel, cisplatin, gemcitabine and combinations of the agents on tumour cells taken from 49 fresh NSCLC samples. There were considerable differences between tumors in their sensitivity to individual agents and combinations, though the combination of cisplatin + gemcitabine was usually the most active.

When these results were compared to the gene expression in the tumors, Cree and his colleagues were able to identify a number of patterns, especially in chemosensitivity to combinations of treatments. Cree said, “The genes identified in this study fall into several categories, linked with much studied mechanisms such as metabolism within the cell, membrane drug pumps, and DNA repair, but also with apoptosis, suggesting that the general susceptibility of the cell to undergo this process may be an important determinant of tumor chemosensitivity, outweighing more specific mechanisms”.

Stomach cancer

Stomach cancer (also called gastric cancer) can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus and the small intestine.

It may also spread, through the stomach wall, to nearby lymph nodes and organs such as the liver, pancreas, and the lungs, or to distant organs such as the lymph nodes above the collar bone, the colon, and the ovaries.

Metastasis (the spread of cancer from its primary site to other places in the body) to the ovaries can result in Krukenberg tumors.

Stomach cancer represents roughly 2% (21,500) cases of all new cancer cases yearly in the United States, but it is much more common in Japan, Great Britain, South America, and Iceland.

It is associated with high salt in the diet, smoking, and low intake of fruits and vegetables.

Infection with H.

pylori is the main risk factor in about 80% or more of gastric cancers.

It is more common in men..

Metastasis

Metastasis is the spread of cancer from its primary site to other places in the body (e.g., brain, liver).

Cancer cells can break away from a primary tumor, penetrate into lymphatic and blood vessels, circulate through the bloodstream, and grow in a distant focus (metastasize) in normal tissues elsewhere in the body.

Tumor

Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means “swelling”, and is sometimes still used with that meaning.

Tumor meaning swelling is one of the five classical characteristics of inflammation.

However, the term is now primarily used to denote abnormal growth of tissue.