| Tanning no cure for seasonal depression
Even if artificial tanning did turn out to improve mood, the increased risk of skin cancer would far outweigh its benefits, added Terman, who is the director of the Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. According to The Skin Cancer Foundation, the newest sunlamps produce up to as a dozen times as much ultraviolet light as real sunshine, while tanning bed users are at greater risk of developing skin cancers. UV light can also harm the eyes, Terman noted, and studies have shown the goggles people use in tanning beds and booths can allow significant amounts of the damaging rays to reach the eyes. Some people become clinically depressed in the fall and winter months, while many more -- an estimated one-quarter of people living in the middle and northern latitudes of the US -- will see a drop in mood as the days get shorter.
Demystifying detox diets
"Okay, to me, I'm not an expert in this, but a dead skin cell doesn't sound like an impurity, it sounds more like a part of the body that's, you know, dead," Wells told a company representative. Other detox plans use tinctures or tonics of vitamins and minerals to cleanse and purify, digest trans fatty acids and neutralize free radicals. Free radicals can cause cell and DNA damage but while it's appealing to think boosting our intake might help ward off cancer, heart disease and aging, Wells says there's little solid data antioxidants alone can improve health. Dr. Jason Boxtart says detox products appeal to the "worried well." "They're worried about (chemicals in the environment) so they say, well, let's do a detox," says Boxtart, chair of the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors.
Overuse of antibiotics creates looming problem
So the drugs don't cure the ailment. But they do expose the bacteria living in the person's gastric tract or on the skin to what is called selective pressure. The bugs susceptible to the antibiotic die off, leaving those that are resistant to flourish and potentially spread. It's the microbial version of survival of the fittest. The rise of antibiotic resistance makes it increasingly difficult to treat infections. And it puts many of the advances of modern medicine in jeopardy. "There's a risk with surgery, there's a risk with a whole host of scenarios. Cancer patients on treatment who become immunosuppressed are at risk of very serious infections," said Simor. -- The Canadian Press .
Q&A: Robert Pearlstein
The paradigm example is the breast cancer drug Herceptin. This agent is effective in just the 25% to 30% of patients whose tumors express a specific protein, HER-2neu. After nearly stopping the Herceptin clinical program, the company developing it realized it could create a companion diagnostic to detect Herceptin-sensitive patients. Herceptin has gone on to become a major product, as well as one of the first examples of personalized medicine, i.e., matching a drug to an individual’s specific tumor genotype. A stunning recent example is the finding that the effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies which target the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), such as Erbitux and Vectibix, are far more effective in patients with colorectal cancer whose tumor cells lack a mutation in a gene called K-ras.
Calculating gene and protein connections in a Parkinson’s model
To decipher how a cell responds to various stimuli, laboratories worldwide have been turning to new technologies that produce vast amounts of data. Such data typically exists in two major forms: genetic screen data (the results from deleting a gene from a cell’s genome and seeing what observable traits appear in the cell) and information on the cellular levels of messenger RNA (mRNA, which is the template for proteins). .
Hybrigenics reçoit 400 000 euros de fonds européens pour cribler
Le programme de développement clinique d'Hybrigenics repose sur l'inécalcitol, un analogue de vitamine D, dans le cancer de la prostate en association avec les traitements de référence actuels, avec pour objectifs d'en améliorer l'efficacité et la tolérance. Le programme de recherche d'Hybrigenics explore le rôle des enzymes appelées Ubiquitin-Specific Proteases (USP) dans la dégradation des onco-protéines et l'intérêt d'inhibiteurs d'USP brevetés dans différents types de cancer. Par ailleurs, l'unité Services d'Hybrigenics commercialise auprès des chercheurs de tous les secteurs des sciences de la vie une gamme de services à façon pour identifier, valider et inhiber les interactions entre protéines, grâce à sa plateforme certifiée ISO 9001 de criblage double-hybride en levure (Y2H) à haut débit, à ses outils et bases de données bioinformatiques très élaborés, à sa chimiothèque et à sa plateforme de criblage chimique.
Dr Frances Pitsilis looks at issues of health and wellbeing
Coffee reduces incidences of breast cancer, bowel cancer, liver cancer, bladder cancer, pharyngeal cancer (that's the back of the throat), and oesophageal cancer (the food pipe). It has been found to improve glucose handling by your body and so also reduces type 2 diabetes by up to 60 per cent - that's the diabetes older people get. It also reduces cirrhosis of the liver, gallstones and encourages fat breakdown in the body - so coffee helps you lose weight too. The special antioxidants in coffee that are helping with all these benefits include polyphenols which are anticarcinogenic. Coffee also contains the beneficial vitamins potassium, niacin (or B3) and magnesium; and natural chemicals which are beneficial called chlorogenic acid, flavenoids, quinides, trigonelline, and methoxanthenes.
Valentines extend one-on-one care
Perkins has finished radiation for the breast cancer diagnosed a year ago. She wrote a letter to local newspaper editors - in longhand, because she wanted them to notice the "good news" of human kindness - to tell how the proprietors' support enriches her life."It's great that they can ease a cancer patient's dry skin, caused by the medicine, but it's the kind of place where you can just sit and enjoy a cup of tea," Perkins said. "It's a place where women can gather and share opinions and information."And gather they will. Women, particularly those recovering from cancer, are invited to share tea in the warm, non-clinical setting on the third Thursday of each month at 110 N. Kirkwood Road."We realize these women need someone to talk to, to feel relaxed and feminine again. We want them to just have that laughter and camaraderie," said Watts, who shares a high risk of breast cancer in her family.As they leave, she plans "a penny for your thoughts." Their written thoughts will be published in a book to profit cancer research.
Log on and Tune Out: Scoring Drugs On the 'Net Made (Too) Easy
But for kids all across the city, there's an easier way of getting these and other medications than calling up your doctor or pill-head friend. And it's the same place where millions of Americans are going to find love, buy furniture, or get a job. It's as simple as booting up your computer and signing on to Craigslist. But buyer beware! Besides the chance of being scammed or arrested while scoring drugs on the Internet, there's an even worse possibility. You might not be. The Score Jessica* doesn't look like your typical drug dealer. She has blond hair in a ponytail, wears classy but understated jewelry and opens the door to her Murray Hill apartment looking something between your favorite babysitter and your favorite aunt. "Hiiii," she says, smiling, "You're not a cop, are you?" For more people than you think in New York (I can't speak for how often these transactions go on in other states), this has become an almost typical greeting.
5 of 8 Sunscreen Could Be Damaging Your Skin?
Likewise, to prevent skin cancer, we wear sunscreen. Applying it daily has become as habitual as brushing our teeth. Now recent research is saying the unthinkable — that using sunscreen may actually be harmful for your skin. Sounds like a bad April Fool's joke, but unfortunately, there may be truth behind it. When you spend time in the sun, UVA and UVB rays get absorbed by your skin. It causes instability in the molecules in your tissue, and harmful compounds known as free radicals are released. According to the study from the University of California, Riverside, certain sunscreen ingredients may cause more free radicals to form than if you were wearing no sunscreen at all. To find out if you should stop using sunscreen, read more. This study was performed in 2006, but now it's surfacing in the medical world.
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