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A new marker, the FSH receptor, may detect the earliest forms of precancerous tumors belonging to 11 types of cancer, so that “radiation therapy” or “surgery” could soon become synonymous with “100% cancer cure”
Nov 10th
The Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) is responsible in both humans and animals for the growth and development of the germ cells that further morph into the gametes of the respective organisms. It takes part in the dynamics that achieve pubertal maturation and that properly shape the reproductive processes of the body. For this reason the FSH receptor, that is, the membrane receptor responsible for interacting with the FSH, which, by the way, is mainly produced by the anterior pituitary gland, is only to be found in the testicular Sertoli cells, the ovarian Granulosa cells, and in very small quantities in the endothelial cells of the ovary and the testis.
So, besides the Granulosa and Sertoli cells, and the inner layer of cells belonging to the blood vessels of ovaries and testis we shouldn’t find the FSH receptor anywhere else, right? Well, maybe not anywhere else that is not a precancerous tumor. In a new study British researchers proved that the FSH receptor could be used as a new cancer marker in order to detect the earliest forms of precancerous tumors which are the precursors to 11 types of cancer; this could mean that “radiation therapy” or “surgery” might soon become synonymous with “100% cancer cure” if early enough medical exams are undergone. Let’s follow the story!
British Researchers led by the Romanian Nicolae Ghinea, Ph.D., published in the 21 October Issue of The New England Journal of Medicine a new study that examined 1336 tumors of all grades of severity extracted from patients that presented risks or had already developed advanced forms of 11 types of cancer (prostate, breast, colon, pancreas, urinary bladder, kidney, lung, liver, stomach, testis and ovary).
They managed to prove that surrounding each and every tumor examined using three types of distinct techniques was a blood vessel fence whose endothelial cells contained significant quantities of FSH Receptors. Immunohistochemical analysis, immunoblotting, and in situ hybridization methods were used to identify the, approximately, 1mm thick layer of endothelial cells comprising the Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Receptor. What is amazing is that the receptor was found in all grades of tumors belonging to 11 types of cancer, making it possible for future advanced imaging techniques to easily localize the earliest forms of precancerous tumors, which afterwards can easily be eliminated through radiation therapy, surgery, and, possibly, by simply blocking the FSH Receptor signaling through medication.
An antibody is a gamma globulin protein that is used by the immune system to detect and cut up the viruses and bacteria that may circulate through blood stream in order to reach different parts of the body. Each and every antibody recognizes its specific target by first identifying its antigen, that is, a protein that is recognized by that antibody. Thus, the antigens of a certain kind will associate (bind) only with their specific antibodies.
In this present case, the FSH Receptor is the antigen. The immunohistochemical analysis is the process used by the researchers to detect the FST Receptor (the antigen) using the above mentioned rule, which says that each antibody will bind to its specific antigen. By supplying the tumorous tissue obtained from 1336 patients with a FSH Receptor antibody, the FSHR323, which was proven by the same researchers to be monospecific, or, to put it more specifically, to be designed to bind only with the FSH Receptor, the scientists observed strong staining (meaning they could observe the presence of FSH Receptors brought to contrast by the binding with the FSHR323 antibody) of a 1 mm thick layer of endothelial cells surrounding the specific cancerous tumor (Figure 1). Immunohistochemical analysis done with two other antibodies, the FSHR190 and the FSHR225, which bind with the FSH Receptor by different means proved similar staining of endothelial cells in all the tumors examined.
In order to further prove the above, scientists also used immunoblotting techniques and in situ hybridization on all the 1336 tumors. Immunoblotting is the technique of detecting the antigens by permitting them to adhere to cellulose sheets and then identifying them by observing through specific methods the staining brought about by their particular antibody. Researchers used two different antibodies for this technique, the FSHR323 and the FSHR18, which detect their specific antigen (the FSH Receptor) by different means. In all cases compelling evidence for the existence of the FSH Receptor was obtained from all specimens.
In situ hybridization is the attempt to by which two strands of DNA or RNA, one being the probe, the other being localized in the tissue of the tumor, are supposedly going to be brought together. If these two strands of nucleic acids are very similar to each other (i.e. they practicably describe the same recipe for the antigen) then they will bind with each other very fast. By observing the speed at which these strands of nucleic acids bind, scientists can make deductions about their similar characteristics. Using in situ hybridization scientists proved the existence of the FSH Receptor RNA in all the tumor tissues examined.
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Don’t blame your smoking on the stress at work! Working under pressure may actually help you
Apr 17th
Contrary to the common sense opinion, 2 studies conducted by Ota and his colleagues in 2004, and by John in 2006 surprisingly found that there is no connection between stress at the work place and smoking habits.
But how could that be? Isn’t this the exactly opposite of what it is supposed to happen? That’s what Anna Schmidt from The Institute for Medical Sociology at University of Cologne and Markus Wirtz from The Institute for Psychology at University of Freiburg, and their colleagues, tried to clarify in their most recent study which addressed the possible association between occupational stress factors and nicotine dependence.
Smoking was responsible in 2004 of 5.4 million deaths and it is expected that by 2030 the number of deaths will reach 8.3 million. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified smoking as “the single most important preventable risk to human health in developed countries and an important cause of premature death worldwide.”
Death caused by smoking habits happens because of ischaemic heart disease, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, lung cancer, cancers of the larynx and mouth, pancreatic cancer and by significantly increasing the risk for every other type of cancer.
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Listen up boys : Cola causes infertility in men!
Apr 5th
In this study, 2554 young danish men, that were recruited between 2001 and 2006 and examined for their fitness for military service, were also questioned, through volunteering, about their coffee and cola consumption frequency, in order to improve the knowledge about the possible connection between caffeine intake (low, moderate and high) and quality of semen by measuring properties like semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count and percentage of spermatozoa having normal morphology.
The danish young volunteers had to fill up a questionnaire, provide a semen sample by masturbating in a room close to the laboratory, supply a blood sample and undergo a thorough physical examination. Diseases and medical conditions that were though to possible intervene and alter the quality of sperm were carefully searched for in the physical examination; consequently, diseases such as inguinal hernia, varicocele, epididymitis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and abnormal position of the testes were taken into account in the model of the study by summarizing their importance in a single variable called “conditions found at the physical examination”. The volunteers were also questioned about their parent’s social status and personal dietary lifestyle like the frequency in the consumption of cheese, chicken, vegetables, fruits, lamb, beef, fish, burgers, butter, etc.
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Want to get rid of Fear and Anxiety? Get more good sleep! Here’s why…
Mar 31st
Scientists have long hypothesized the emotion regulatory role that sleep, specifically REM sleep, might have on humans, but until the time of the current study there was little evidence to support the above claims.
Edward F. Pace-Schott and Mohammed R. Milad from The Harvard Medical School tried to explore the possible ways in which sleep might have evolved to influence the different consolidation memory mechanisms that we are so in need of understanding if we want to develop treatment programs that will cure PTSD, anxiety and other related disorders.
How did they do that? First of all, we must understand a few basic concepts. Fear conditioning is the process by which a emotionally neutral event, like, for example: “seeing a certain object”, “hearing a sound” or “smelling a certain aroma”, might be associated with an “ingrained aversive experience” like being bitten by a spider, getting your hand burned by fire, etc. What happens is that the Conditioned Stimulus (CS), that is, the neutral event, is associated with the Unconditioned Stimulus (US), the aversive experience, so that when the Conditioned Stimulus is triggered again, a certain Conditioned Response (CR) is observed in the person, having the same psychological and physiological characteristics as it would have had if it would have been triggered by the Unconditioned Stimulus.
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Less educated people are more likely to suffer from knee degenerative arthritis
Mar 22nd
It is a well known fact in the scientific bio-medical community, that the Socio-Economic Status (SES) a certain individual possesses might have a powerful impact on his/her’s future health. Due to the very strong connection between the amount of education one gains in the course of adolescence and early twenties, and the socio-economic status he/she will be able to achieve, several past studies tried and managed to prove the linkage between educational attainment and several diseases that find themselves with high prevalence in today’s fast changing world.
As the researchers of the current study state, “individuals from the general population with lower educational attainment have increased chronic disease prevalence, morbidity and mortality as do individuals with specific diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic lung disease”. Coupled with data that showed a strong correlation between education attainment and rheumatic diseases, pain and disability, this current knowledge about the implications the level of schooling might have on prevalent diseases, made scientists Leigh F Callahan and Jack Shreffler, from The Thurston Arthritis Research Center at The Department of Medicine from The University of North Carolina, study the effects education attainment might have on osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease.
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Does coffee help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes?
Mar 1st
That would be a huge plus for all us coffee drinkers, wouldn’t it? Researchers Gustavo D Pimentel from the Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil and Juliane CS Zemdegs from The Nutrition and Health Sciences Institute in Campinas, Brazil, presented a review comprising all the evidence that suggest a tight connection between moderate and high daily intake of coffee and a reduced risk of developing/aggravating type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes starts at its onset with insulin resistance, an abnormal reaction of muscle, fat and liver cells to the insulin hormone that carries glucose from the blood stream to them. The abnormal reaction manifests itself by an incapacity of body cells to absorb and process a normal quantity of insulin therefore the pancreas must start compensating by secreting extra amounts of this hormone. Left uncontrolled, this pre-diabetes issue, like a roller-coaster ride, leads to Hyperinsulimia, meaning large quantities of insulin present in the blood stream; the problem with this extra amount of insulin is that it is produced by a stressed out pancreas that gets depleted copping day by day with the more and more unresponsive body cells. And that is the start of type 2 diabetes. The elevated levels of glucose (hyperglycaemia) can be a life threatening issue being one of the primary causes of hypertension, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular complications which are by them selves a leading cause of blindness, amputation and kidney failure. One of the optimistic elements in this discussion is that although type 2 diabetes has causal links of its onset with certain elements of the genetic code, a great deal of prevention and curing can be done by altering ones diet and lifestyle. Is coffee part of that diet ?
