Medical Breakthroughs, Research, and News

[SubGod22]

Delicious Cancer Breakthrough: Pomegranates Found to Significantly Fuel Tumor-Fighting Immune Cells

A new study shows that a substance found in pomegranates significantly boosts the immune system to fight cancer—triggering a constant supply of endless rejuvenated T cells.

German scientists studying therapies for colorectal cancer discovered that a metabolite in the red fruit, known as urolithin-A, rejuvenates immune T cells to make them better at fighting tumors.

Early diagnosis and treatment for colon cancer has improved in recent years but not all patients respond well to new treatments—so it remains a disease with high mortality rates in advanced stages.

Current research suggests that immune cells that are supposed to fight the tumor are suppressed by the surrounding tissue of the tumor. As a result, T cells, which are the body’s natural immune response agains cancer, are restricted and the tumor is allowed to grow and spread uncontrollably.

A team in Frankfurt led by Professor Florian Greten is now closer to solving the problem. Their discovery shows that urolithin A recycles and renews mitochondria—the so-called power plants inside T cells—through a process known as mitophagy.

When the pomegranate agent is introduced, old and damaged mitochondria in the T cells are removed and replaced by new, functional ones. This changes the genetic make up of the T cells, which are then more capable of fighting the tumor.

[SubGod22]

Another cancer related article.

'Ground Breaking' Patient Who Survived 12 Different Types of Cancer Could Hold Key to Detection and Treating

A unique patient who has survived a dozen different types of cancer tumors over a lifetime could provide the key for researchers to develop new early detection and immunotherapy treatments, say scientists.

A cancer diagnosis can change someone’s life, but 12 is nothing that any of us could probably comprehend.

The course of this individual’s life has been nothing short of extraordinary. They first developed a tumor when almost still a baby, followed by others every few years. In less than forty years of life, the patient has developed twelve tumors, at least five of them malignant, each in a different part of the body.

Despite this death sentence as most would see it, the patient’s immune system seems to be supercharged, and capable of producing anti-inflammatory responses strong enough to fight off all these various cancers.

When the patient first came to Spain’s National Center for Investigative Oncology (CNIO), a blood sample was taken to sequence the genes most frequently involved in hereditary cancer, but no alteration was detected in them. The researchers then analyzed the individual’s entire genome and found mutations in a gene called MAD1L1.

This gene is essential in the process of cell division and proliferation. CNIO researchers analyzed the effect of the mutations detected, and concluded that they cause alterations in the number of chromosomes in the cells—all cells in the human body have 23 pairs of chromosomes.

[SubGod22]

More cancer news. With all of these cancer research articles one has to think we're getting much closer to making a major impact.

First Patient Gets Potentially Cancer-Stopping Pill - Study is Recruiting Those with Resistant Tumors For a Trial

The Phase 1 trial has begun to test a novel pill that was effective in pre-clinical studies against reoccurring solid tumors from breast, prostate, brain, ovarian, cervical, skin and lung cancers.

City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the U.S., announced last month that the first patient to receive its novel, promising cancer medicine is doing well—and they are currently recruiting people for the study “who the therapies of tomorrow today.”

Linda Malkas, Ph.D. has been working on the research and subsequent discovery and development of AOH1996 for 20 years says the drug was named after Anna Olivia Healey, a young girl born 26 years ago who unfortunately was not able to beat cancer.

Malkas believed that proliferating cell nuclear antigen’ (PCNA), which plays an essential role in the replication and repair of cells, would be a less toxic cancer therapy that targets mutated cancer cells while leaving normal cells alone.

The treatment has been shown in preclinical research to target PCNA and inhibit the growth and spread of a broad range of human cancer cells.

She says AOH1996 is not toxic to healthy cells and that treatment with this medicine both pauses cell DNA synthesis and inhibits DNA repair, leading to a type of cell death known as apoptosis in the cancer cells.

[SubGod22]

Almost put this in Sliver of Hope because it came from the mind of a middle school girl, but it sounds like it could potentially be a groundbreaking invention that can do a lot of good and save a lot of hearing and lives in infants/toddlers.

14-yo Crowned 'America's Top Young Scientist' for Headphones That Treat Ear Infections With Blue Light

A 14-year-old in San Diego, California, was named the grand prize winner of this year’s 3M Young Scientist Challenge, the nation’s premier middle school science competition.

Leanne Fan developed Finsen Headphones, a low-cost headphone device that uses machine learning and blue light therapy to detect and treat mid-ear infections in children—potentially preventing up to 60% of hearing loss in children.

As a finalist, Leanne had been assigned a mentor—Dr. Ross Behling, a research specialist in 3M’s material laboratory—who worked with her one-on-one to transform her idea from concept to prototype over the summer.

Then, for two days in October, the nine finalists competed at the 3M headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, giving their final presentations of their innovations. (Watch her qualifying presentation below…)

The world sees 700 million cases of mid-ear infections and nearly 21,000 deaths annually. Many of those impacted are children in underprivileged populations. Without medical access and or healthcare, diagnosis and treatment are often difficult. Leanne’s invention aims to provide an antibiotic free, low-cost option to detect—and treat—any mid-ear infection.

The incoming high school freshman won a $25,000 cash prize, a special destination trip, and the prestigious title of “America’s Top Young Scientist”. She is planning to use some of the prize money to start the patent process for the headphones.

[SubGod22]

Impressive

Lab-Grown Blood Given to People in World-First Clinical Trial

British scientists have grown human red blood cells in a lab for the first time, and conducted a clinical trial to give it to patients.

The blood is grown by encouraging stem cells found in a blood donor’s sample to become new red blood cells, and opens the door to transfusion treatments for those with ultra-rare blood types.

For the near total majority of blood transfusions, British hospitals will still rely on people rolling up their sleeves and donating. This is, and will remain the case for, A, B, O, and AB blood types.

But what if a patient needs a blood transfusion of the “Bombay” blood group? It’s a tough call, as the British NIH knows of three people in the whole of the UK with this ultra-rare blood type.

Certain diseases, such as sickle-cell anemia, require regular blood transfusions, and if this patient were to also have the Bombay blood type, or “Jka-b-” or “Rh-null” also called “golden blood,” or “SARA” type after the first person it was discovered in, they are in serious danger.

A transfusion with the wrong blood type will be viewed as foreign and attacked by the immune system.

[SubGod22]

Here's a potential game changer.

Protein Changes in Blood Could Become New Test for Catching Breast Cancer Up to 2 Years Early

Newly discovered protein changes in the blood could pave the way for a new test to catching breast cancer up to two years early.

On Wednesday, researchers revealed they found the levels of six proteins in people’s blood changed before they were diagnosed with breast cancer.

They claimed this could form the basis of blood testing to catch the disease early in those who are genetically predisposed or have a family history of breast cancer, and catching the disease early means a reduced chance of death.

According to the American Cancer Society, the 5-year relative survival rate for breast cancer detected early is just about 99%, but if the cancer is detected late and spreads beyond the breast tissues, that rate falls by about 10%.

These new results came from the “Trial Early Serum Test” Breast, or TESTBREAST, cancer study initiated in 2011.

Currently the study includes 1,174 women who are at high risk of breast cancer because of a family history or carrying gene variants known to raise breast cancer risk.

Women taking part in the study have given blood samples at least once a year for ten years, when they go for a screening. If they develop breast cancer they give samples when they are diagnosed too.

[SubGod22]

CAR T-Cell Therapy Sends Lupus into Remission for Patients, Using Specially-Armed Immune Cells

A decade ago, CAR T-cell therapy changed the face of cancer research and treatment. It’s now been applied in a small trial to lupus patients with total success.

Four female patients and one male whose lupus had been untreatable were given an infusion of genetically-engineered immune cells called T-cells, which attacked another group of cells that do the damage in lupus patients, sending all five into remission.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease, meaning the autonomic immune system begins attacking the body. In the case of lupus, defective immune cells called B-cells produce autoantibodies which attack the patient’s own cells rather than hostile pathogens.

It can cause a large variety of symptoms as varied and mild as fatigue, and as serious as organ damage and failure.

In the trial, CAR T-cell therapy, which has been approved for a variety of cancers, was applied to instruct the genetics of the T-cells in the five lupus patients not to target cancer cells, but these defective autoantibody-producing B-cells.

I know Lupus can be a *****. This is definitely promising.

[SubGod22]

For First Time, a Fatal Enzyme Deficiency is Treated in the Womb to Save a Child

The delivery of medication via the umbilical vein to a baby in utero with a rare genetic condition was proven to be a success in preventing the infant’s death.

It’s the first time in history Pompe disease has been treated in utero, and could represent a life-saving new standard of care that’s safe and effective for both mother and infant.

In Canada, the parents of 16-month-old Ayla were relieved when she was born as expected, with no signs of the disease that can cause lethal heart complications. Pompe affects fewer than 1 in 100,000 infants, but this inherited condition arising from a defective gene copy is often fatal.

Treatment so far starts after birth, is known as enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), and plays the role of injecting an enzyme critical for healthy heart function. Pompe disease is known as a “lysosomal storage disorder” and results in the buildup of toxins in tissues. The replacement enzyme is called GAA, and since fetuses and infants like Ayla can’t produce it, toxic buildups of glycogen, the storage form of sugars like glucose, can damage the heart and lead to myocarditis.

The glycogen makes it harder for their small hearts to pump blood, leading to muscle weakness, and death is typical within 2 years.

I'm continually amazed at the things we can come up with to better lives.

[SubGod22]

This New Technology Removes Cancerous Tumors Without Surgery

A new technology developed at Tel Aviv University makes it possible to destroy cancerous tumors in a targeted manner, via a combination of ultrasound and the injection of nanobubbles into the bloodstream.

According to the research team, unlike invasive treatment methods or the injection of microbubbles into the tumor itself, this latest technology enables the destruction of the tumor in a non-invasive manner.

The study was conducted under the leadership of doctoral student Mike Bismuth from the lab of Dr. Tali Ilovitsh at Tel Aviv University's Department of Biomedical Engineering, in collaboration with Dr. Dov Hershkovitz of the Department of Pathology. Prof. Agata Exner from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland also participated in the study. The study was published in the journal Nanoscale.

Dr. Tali Ilovitsh says that their "new technology makes it possible, in a relatively simple way, to inject nanobubbles into the bloodstream, which then congregate in the area of the cancerous tumor. After that, using a low-frequency ultrasound, we explode the nanobubbles, and thereby the tumor."

The researchers explain that the prevalent method of cancer treatment today is surgical removal of the tumor in combination with complementary treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Therapeutic ultrasound to destroy the cancerous tumor is a non-invasive alternative to surgery.

Sounds pretty cool. Always like hearing about new possibilities to fight cancer.

[SubGod22]

Here's a new development that caught my eye.

Believe it or Not, Leprosy Offers the Potential to Regenerate Livers - Cutting Transplant Wait Times

Leprosy has appeared in medical literature as far back as there has been medical literature, but its latest appearance doesn’t involve talk of a treatment or cure, but rather a unique ability the parasites that cause leprosy have to regenerate livers.

The findings suggest the possibility of adapting this natural process to renew aging livers and repair damaged ones to increase health span in humans and remove a significant number of those waiting on liver transplant lists.

Working with the US Department of Health and Human Services in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a team from the Univ. of Edinburgh observed that the livers of 57 armadillos, a natural carrier of the leprosy parasite, were enlarged compared to uninfected ones, but healthy and without damage.

“If we can identify how bacteria grow the liver as a functional organ without causing adverse effects in living animals, we may be able to translate that knowledge to develop safer therapeutic interventions to rejuvenate aging livers and to regenerate damaged tissues,” said Professor Anura Rambukkana, lead author from University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine.

[SubGod22]

I love where this is headed

Aggressive Leukemia Disappears in 13-Year-old Girl Who was First to Receive New CRISPR Treatment

In the latest CRISPR success story, a 13-year-old girl whose leukemia had not responded to other treatments now has no detectable cancer cells.

She received a dose of immune cells that were genetically edited to attack the leukemia, a method that’s been used with other cancers.

A form of cancer in the bone marrow tissue, leukemia is caused by mutated immune cells and is normally treated by killing all bone marrow cells in the patient’s body before receiving a transplant from a donor. If this fails, the Nobel Prize-winning CAR-T cell therapy can be used instead.

This was the case of Alyssa, a 13-year-old girl from the UK, who received a dose of common immune system weapons called T cells that had been modified to attack cancerous cells in her body. To avoid the extreme costs associated with this, the Great Ormond Street Hospital team at University College London further modified the donor T cells.

“This is quite remarkable, although it is still a preliminary result, which needs to be monitored and confirmed over the next few months,” said Robert Chiesa, one of the doctors treating Alyssa, in a statement released by Great Ormond Street Hospital.

[SubGod22]

Interesting potential here.

These Flabby Gel Robots Could Deliver Life-Saving Drugs by Inching Along Using Changes in Temperature

A “soft robot” can move its way through the human body solely by the changing of temperatures, and could be an excellent way to deliver precision doses of key medications.

These “gelbots” aren’t really robots at all, but little capsules filled with a water-based gel that through expansion and contraction, pushes the tiny robot along like an inchworm.

Robots are made almost exclusively of hard materials like metals and plastics, a fundamental obstacle in the push to create robots ideal for human biomedical advancements.

Water-based gels, which feel like gummy bears, are one of the most promising materials in the field of soft robotics. Researchers have previously demonstrated that gels which swell or shrink in response to temperature can be used to create smart structures.

Here, the Johns Hopkins University team demonstrated for the first time, how swelling and shrinking of gels can be strategically manipulated to move robots forward and backward on flat surfaces, or to essentially have them crawl in certain directions with an undulating, wave-like motion.

“It seems very simplistic but this is an object moving without batteries, without wiring, without an external power supply of any kind—just on the swelling and shrinking of gel,” said senior author David Gracias, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

[SubGod22]

A new discovery may lead to better recovery rates for a very fatal cancer.

An Achilles Heel for Glioblastoma Discovered-a Rogue Protein that Turns Natural Defenses Off

A rogue protein that fuels the deadliest brain cancers has been identified by scientists in a breakthrough that opens the door to bettering what is normally a 10% survival rate.

The scientists used gene editing to deactivate the protein, which stopped the tumor growth in its tracks—a hugely encouraging sign.

Glioblastomas have one of the lowest survival rates of any cancers, with fewer than 10% of patients living past 3 years.

“The aggressiveness of glioblastoma is notorious,” said the new paper’s lead author Professor Alea Mills. “The norm is to do surgery, treat with harsh drugs and just hope for the best.”

Mills and her team identified an Achilles heel of glioblastomas, which not only could lead to better treatments, but also explain in part why they and other cancers are so aggressive.

Bromodomain-containing protein 8, or BRD8, was found to suppress the activity of one of the most important cancer-preventing parts of a cell, the P53 gene. P53 codes for proteins which stop cells dividing when they should otherwise die, and almost all cancers depend on disruptions in P53 activity or production.

[SubGod22]

Another potential cancer fighting solution showing promise.

In a World First, Scientists Use Artificial DNA to Kill Cancer Cells

Japanese oncologists have used artificial DNA in a whole new way to naturally kill cancer cells by helping the immune system identify them.

The whole reason cancer is as lethal as it is is because the immune system doesn’t act upon cancer cells and tumors, disguised as they are to look like normal cells.

By creating a hairpin-shaped pair of DNA molecules called oHPs, the researchers found a way to expose the cancer to the immune system’s targeting procedure, and thus stop and even reverse human cervical cancer and breast cancer-derived cells, and malignant melanoma in mice.

Nucleic-acid treatments for cancer are inherently risky due to the potential for the host immune system to attack healthy cells carrying the same genes or signals as the cancerous ones.

As normal as they may seem to the immune system, cancer cells don’t function like normal cells. They overproduce or underproduce certain material, in this case the target was an overproduced informational molecule called microRNA-21 (miR-21).

When the artificial oPHs encountered the miR-21, they unwound them, and rejoined to form longer DNA strands which were naturally determined as being dangerous due to their overabundance by the host immune system.

[SubGod22]

Breakthrough as Cellular "Glue" Heals Wounds, Potentially Regrows Nerves and Tissue With Regenerative Medicine

Typical of science fiction is the scene wherein a space warrior sustains an injury and some kind of medical spray instantly repairs the damage. This could soon be science fact, thanks to a medical science breakthrough.

Researchers at the Univ. of California San Francisco have engineered molecules that act like a “cellular glue” for direct bonding of tissues—a long sought goal of regenerative medicine.

In a first-of-its-kind demonstration, the UCSF team produced customized adhesion molecules which bound select cells in a predictable manner, giving them de-facto control of the regenerative potential of the body.

“We were able to engineer cells in a manner that allows us to control which cells they interact with, and also to control the nature of that interaction,“ said senior author Wendell Lim, PhD, director of UCSF’s Cell Design Institute. “This opens the door to building novel structures like tissues and organs.”

Adhesive molecules can be found all throughout the human body creating communicative-bonds and immune pathways between tens of trillions of cells, but manipulating them has been beyond the reach of scientists so far.

Cellular bonding creates the characteristics of the structure they create. Tighter bonds form complex, solid organs like the liver or lungs, while looser bonds permit structures like immune molecules to do their disease fighting work with flexibility.

Things like this amaze me. The potential of this discovery is pretty amazing.