plus 4, Acupuncture May Cut Hot Flashes, Boost Sex Drive in Breast Cancer ... - abc40 |
- Acupuncture May Cut Hot Flashes, Boost Sex Drive in Breast Cancer ... - abc40
- AmpliVox Donates Pink Podiums for Breast Cancer Awareness ... - PR Inside
- Bionovo Announces Publication Describing First Novel Dual mTOR Inhibitor, BN107, for the Treatment of Breast Cancer - MSN Money
- Potential New 'Twist' In Breast Cancer Detection - Redorbit.com
- Pressure rises to stop antibiotics in agriculture - KOLD-TV
| Acupuncture May Cut Hot Flashes, Boost Sex Drive in Breast Cancer ... - abc40 Posted: 01 Jan 2010 08:25 AM PST By Amanda Gardner HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, Dec. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Acupuncture is just as good as standard medication to ease hot flashes and other uncomfortable symptoms in women undergoing breast cancer treatment. And as an added bonus, the needle treatment may boost the patient's sex drive and contribute to clearer thinking. "I think the data shows you that acupuncture is a good option for these patients [and] it has no side effects," added Dr. Eleanor Walker, division director of breast services in the department of radiation oncology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and lead author of a study appearing online Dec. 28 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. But another expert warned against taking the findings too seriously at this stage. "It's provocative but the problem is it's a small number of patients and, having participated in research trials in vasomotor [hot flashes, night sweats, etc.] symptoms in women, it's a field that has a large placebo effect," said Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge. "It needs to have a bigger trial." Prior studies have shown that acupuncture can reduce hot flashes in postmenopausal women without breast cancer. All of these studies, however, compared acupuncture to sham acupuncture, not to commonly used drugs, Walker noted. This is the first randomized controlled study to compare acupuncture alongside medication. Many women with breast cancer receive anti-estrogen hormone therapy, usually for as long as five years, in addition to other treatments. Although hormone therapy is effective in reducing tumor recurrence, it does cause hot flashes and night sweats. The antidepressant Effexor (venlafaxine) is the most commonly used therapy for relieving these symptoms, but the drug brings its own problems, namely dry mouth, reduced appetite, nausea and constipation. "We need something that's accessible that doesn't add adverse effects," Walker said. For this study, 50 women with breast cancer were randomly assigned to receive 12 weeks of acupuncture (twice a week for four weeks then once a week) or daily Effexor. They were followed for a year. Initially, both groups of women experienced similar reductions (about 50 percent) in hot flashes and depression, with an overall improvement in quality of life. But the acupuncture benefits were longer lived. Two weeks out, women taking the antidepressant saw a resurgence in hot flashes while women in the acupuncture arm continued to have far fewer problems. About 25 percent of women receiving acupuncture also reported more interest in sex while many also reported more energy and clearer thinking. How might acupuncture work its magic? One expert had a theory. Acupuncture operates as a balancing mechanism, said Janet Konefal, a licensed acupuncturist and assistant dean of complementary and integrative medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "It is a regulator for the systems of the body," she explained. "It doesn't add or take anything -- it simply increases activity or decreases activity depending upon the points used. In this situation, it helped regulate the endocrine system, thus helping to balance the activity of hormones, neurotransmitters, and other biochemical reactions that regulate the body." However, getting access to the treatment can be problematic, Walker said. "The issue most of the time is the cost of it and whether insurance companies will pay for it," she said. Additional studies also need to look at how often women would need booster acupuncture to minimize their symptoms. More information There's more on breast cancer treatments at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.  Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| AmpliVox Donates Pink Podiums for Breast Cancer Awareness ... - PR Inside Posted: 29 Dec 2009 01:58 PM PST 2009-12-29 22:53:35 - NORTHBROOK, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 12/29/09 -- AmpliVox announced an unprecedented corporate campaign to support the cause for Breast Cancer Awareness. To raise the bar on "being heard," AmpliVox donates one pink podium to every breast cancer awareness related presentation or event, on a free loan-per-event basis. The Pink Podium Promise program will help to connect with new audiences and heighten the awareness and education on the importance of the early detection of breast cancer. Our Breast Cancer Awareness Page: :  www.ampli.com/opo/PinkPodiumPromisePR.htm : for images and information.
"We've affirmed our ongoing commitment to the fight against breast cancer, which AmpliVox supports through its Pink Podium Promise. Donating the Pink Podium to breast cancer awareness related presentations and events is our way of allowing all voices to be heard," commented Don Roth, CEO of AmpliVox.
The Pink Podium is the Pinnacle Multimedia Hard Shell Plastic Podium, a virtually indestructible hard plastic lectern that can survive tough abuse indoors or outdoors. To request a Pink Podium, please email or call the contact below.
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| Posted: 29 Dec 2009 04:54 AM PST EMERYVILLE, Calif., Dec. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bionovo, Inc. BNVI announced today the publication of results from its study on the anti-tumor mechanism of BN107. The results of the study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, describe the potential molecular mechanisms mediating the selective pro-apoptotic (cell death) effect induced by BN107 on estrogen receptor negative (ER-) breast cancer cells. Despite favorable advances that treatment options have had on survival, oncologists continue to face challenges in providing safe and effective treatment options for ER- breast cancer patients. In this patient population, the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is often abnormally activated which allows cancer cells to grow uncontrollably and evade death. There are two mTOR protein complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2, both of which are essential for the control of aberrant survival signals. Agents that can inhibit mTORC1 and mTORC2 at the same time might lead to effective suppression of the Akt/mTOR pathway and result in tumor cell death. The study showed that BN107 decreases the levels of proteins present in the mTORC1 and mTORC2 complexes, resulting in their demise specifically in ER- breast cancer cells. The mTOR pathway as a target for cancer therapies has been actively pursued by many pharmaceutical companies. To the Company's knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating effective inhibition of both mTOR complexes concomitantly through a novel mechanism. As explained by Dr. Sylvia Fong, Research Scientist at Bionovo, "The ability of BN107 to induce cancer cell death is selective. We demonstrate that breast cancer cells lacking estrogen receptors are highly sensitive to BN107. Our studies show that disruption of mTOR signaling mediated by both mTORC1 and mTORC2 complexes is most likely responsible for the anti-tumor effect of BN107. Simply put, BN107 has a unique way to target a specific sub-group of breast cancer cells that currently has no selective treatment. This is exciting." "It is critical to develop novel and safe strategies to effectively treat the patients with ER- breast cancers. We believe BN107 will result in better selectivity to hormone independent tumors based on its unique selectivity and mechanisms of action. Currently the only available treatment for this group, constituting 40% of women diagnosed with breast cancer, is chemotherapy. BN107, an oral drug candidate, should provide a chronic treatment option with a low toxicity profile," said Dr. Isaac Cohen, Chairman and CEO of Bionovo. Bionovo, Inc. Bionovo is a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of safe and effective treatments for women's health and cancer, markets with significant unmet needs and billions in potential annual revenue. The company applies its expertise in the biology of menopause and cancer to design new drugs derived from botanical sources which have novel mechanisms of action. Based on the results of early and mid-stage clinical trials, Bionovo believes they have discovered new classes of drug candidates within their rich pipeline with the potential to be leaders in their markets. Bionovo is headquartered in Emeryville, California and is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol, "BNVI". For more information about Bionovo and its programs, visit http://www.bionovo.com. Forward Looking Statements This release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of Bionovo, Inc. that can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties relating to product development, efficacy and safety, regulatory actions or delays, the ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection, market acceptance, physician acceptance, third party reimbursement, future capital requirements, competition in general and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or will be described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. Bionovo, Inc. is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE Bionovo, Inc. Copyright 2009 PR Newswire Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Potential New 'Twist' In Breast Cancer Detection - Redorbit.com Posted: 05 Dec 2009 12:03 PM PST Posted on: Saturday, 5 December 2009, 14:10 CST Mouse studies reveal new -- and better -- picture of stem cells that may fuel some breast cancers Working with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins publishing in the December issue of Neoplasia have shown that a protein made by a gene called "Twist" may be the proverbial red flag that can accurately distinguish stem cells that drive aggressive, metastatic breast cancer from other breast cancer cells. Building on recent work suggesting that it is a relatively rare subgroup of stem cells in breast tumors that drives breast cancer, scientists have surmised that this subgroup of cells must have some very distinctive qualities and characteristics. In experiments designed to identify those special qualities, the Hopkins team focused on the gene "Twist" (or TWIST1) – named for its winding shape – because of its known role as the producer of a so-called transcription factor, or protein that switches on or off other genes. Twist is an oncogene, one of many genes we are born with that have the potential to turn normal cells into malignant ones. "Our experiments show that Twist is a driving force among a lot of other players in causing some forms of breast cancer," says Venu Raman, Ph.D., associate professor of radiology and oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "The protein it makes is one of a growing collection of markers that, when present, flag a tumor cell as a breast cancer stem cell." Previous stem cell research identified a Twist-promoted process known as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, or EMT, as an important marker denoting the special subgroup of breast cancer stem cells. EMT essentially gets cells to detach from a primary tumor and metastasize. The new Hopkins research shows that the presence of Twist, along with changes in two other biomarkers – CD 24 and CD44 – even without EMT, announces the presence of this critical sub-group of stem cells. "The conventional thinking is that the EMT is crucial for recognizing the breast cancer cell as stem cells, and the potential for metastasis, but our studies show that when Twist shows up in excess or even at all, it can work independently of EMT," says Farhad Vesuna, Ph.D., an instructor of radiology in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "EMT is not mandatory for identifying a breast cancer stem cell." Working with human breast cancer cells transplanted into mice, all of which had the oncogene Twist, the scientists tagged cell surface markers CD24 and CD44 with fluorescent chemicals. Following isolation of the subpopulation containing high CD44 and low CD24 by flow cytometry, they counted 20 of these putative breast cancer stem cells. They then injected these cells into the breast tissue of 12 mice. All developed cancerous tumors. "Normally, it takes approximately a million cells to grow a xenograft, or transplanted tumor," Vesuna says. "And here we're talking just 20 cells. There is something about these cells – something different compared to the whole bulk of the tumor cell – that makes them potent. That's the acid test – if you can take a very small number of purified "stem cells" and grow a cancerous tumor, this means you have a pure population." Previously, the team showed that 65 percent of aggressive breast cancers have more Twist compared to lower-grade breast cancers, and that Twist-expressing cells are more resistant to radiation. Twist is what scientists refer to as an oncogene, one that if expressed when and where it's not supposed to be expressed, causes oncogenesis or cancer because the molecules and pathways that once regulated it and kept it in check are gone. This finding – that Twist is integral to the breast cancer stem cell phenotype – has fundamental implications for early detection, treatment and prevention, Raman says. Some cancer treatments may kill ordinary tumor cells while sparing the rare cancer stem cell population, sabotaging treatment efforts. More effective cancer therapies likely require drugs that kill this important stem cell population. This study was supported by the Maryland Stem Cell Research Foundation. In addition to Vesuna and Raman, authors of the paper include Ala Lisok and Brian Kimble, also of Johns Hopkins. --- On the Net: Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Pressure rises to stop antibiotics in agriculture - KOLD-TV Posted: 01 Jan 2010 11:45 AM PST
By MARGIE MASON and MARTHA MENDOZA Associated Press Writers FRANKENSTEIN, Mo. (AP) - The mystery started the day farmer Russ Kremer got between a jealous boar and a sow in heat. The boar gored Kremer in the knee with a razor-sharp tusk. The burly pig farmer shrugged it off, figuring: "You pour the blood out of your boot and go on." But Kremer's red-hot leg ballooned to double its size. A strep infection spread, threatening his life and baffling doctors. Two months of multiple antibiotics did virtually nothing. The answer was flowing in the veins of the boar. The animal had been fed low doses of penicillin, spawning a strain of strep that was resistant to other antibiotics. That drug-resistant germ passed to Kremer. Like Kremer, more and more Americans - many of them living far from barns and pastures - are at risk from the widespread practice of feeding livestock antibiotics. These animals grow faster, but they can also develop drug-resistant infections that are passed on to people. The issue is now gaining attention because of interest from a new White House administration and a flurry of new research tying antibiotic use in animals to drug resistance in people. Researchers say the overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals has led to a plague of drug-resistant infections that killed more than 65,000 people in the U.S. last year - more than prostate and breast cancer combined. And in a nation that used about 35 million pounds of antibiotics last year, 70 percent of the drugs went to pigs, chickens and cows. Worldwide, it's 50 percent. "This is a living breathing problem, it's the big bad wolf and it's knocking at our door," said Dr. Vance Fowler, an infectious disease specialist at Duke University. "It's here. It's arrived." The rise in the use of antibiotics is part of a growing problem of soaring drug resistance worldwide, The Associated Press found in a six-month look at the issue. As a result, killer diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and staph are resurging in new and more deadly forms. In response, the pressure against the use of antibiotics in agriculture is rising. The World Health Organization concluded this year that surging antibiotic resistance is one of the leading threats to human health, and the White House last month said the problem is "urgent." "If we're not careful with antibiotics and the programs to administer them, we're going to be in a post antibiotic era," saidDr. Thomas Frieden, who was tapped to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this year. Also this year, the three federal agencies tasked with protecting public health - the Food and Drug Administration, CDC and U.S. Department of Agriculture - declared drug-resistant diseases stemming from antibiotic use in animals a "serious emerging concern." And FDA deputy commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein told Congress this summer that farmers need to stop feeding antibiotics to healthy farm animals. Farm groups and pharmaceutical companies argue that drugs keep animals healthy and meat costs low, and have defeated a series of proposed limits on their use. _______ America's farmers give their pigs, cows and chickens about 8 percent more antibiotics each year, usually to heal lung, skin or blood infections. However, 13 percent of the antibiotics administered on farms last year were fed to healthy animals to make them grow faster. Antibiotics also save as much as 30 percent in feed costs among young swine, although the savings fade as pigs get older, according to a new USDA study. However, these animals can develop germs that are immune to the antibiotics. The germs then rub into scratches on farmworkers' arms, causing oozing infections. They blow into neighboring communities in dust clouds, run off into lakes and rivers during heavy rains, and are sliced into roasts, chops and hocks and sent to our dinner tables. "Antibiotic-resistant microorganisms generated in the guts of pigs in the Iowa countryside don't stay on the farm," said Union of Concerned Scientists Food and Environment director Margaret Mellon. More than 20 percent of all human cases of a deadly drug-resistant staph infection in the Netherlands could be traced to an animal strain, according to a study published online in a CDC journal. Federal food safety studies routinely find drug resistant bacteria in beef, chicken and pork sold in supermarkets, and 20 percent of people who get salmonella have a drug resistant strain, according to the CDC. Here's how it happens: In the early '90s, farmers in several countries, including the U.S., started feeding animals fluoroquinolones, a family of antibiotics that includes drugs such as ciprofloxacin. In the following years, the once powerful antibiotic Cipro stopped working 80 percent of the time on some of the deadliest human infections it used to wipe out. Twelve years later, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study linking people infected with a Cipro-resistant bacteria to pork they had eaten. Johns Hopkins University health sciences professor Ellen Silbergeld, who has reviewed every major study on this issue, said there's no doubt drug use in farm animals is a "major driver of antimicrobial resistance worldwide." "We have data to show it's in wastewaters and it goes to aquaculture and it goes here and there," agreed Dr. Stuart Levy, an expert on antibiotic resistance at Tufts University in Boston. "Antibiotic use in animals impacts everything." _______ Farmer Craig Rowles remains unconvinced. It's afternoon in one of his many rural Iowa pig barns, roaring with snorting and squealing pigs. Some snooze in corners, while others hustle toward their troughs, their slop laced with a steady supply of antibiotics. "If there was some sort of crossover between the use of the antibiotics in animals and the antibiotics in humans, if there was in fact a real issue there, wouldn't you think we would have seen it?" said Rowles, also a veterinarian who sells 150,000 hogs a year. "That's what the science says to me." The modular modern barn, home to 1,000 pigs, is a hygienic place. Manure plops through slatted floorboards; an invisible funk steams back up. Rowles dons a sanitary white paperjumpsuit and slips plastic booties over his shoes; he's anxious that his 100-pound pigs aren't exposed to outside germs. A few sick swine are isolated, corralled in a pen near the entrance. Antibiotics are a crucial part of Rowles' business, speeding growth and warding off disease. "Now the public doesn't see that," he said. "They're only concerned about resistance, and they don't care about economics because, 'As long as I can buy a pork chop for a buck 69 a pound, I really don't care.' But we live in a world where you have to consider economics in the decision-making process of what we do." Rowles gives his pigs virginiamycin, which has been used in livestock for decades and is not absorbed by the gut. He withdraws the drug three weeks before his hogs are sent for slaughter. He also monitors his herd for signs of drug resistance to ensure they are getting the most effective doses. "The one thing that the American public wants to know is: Is the product that I'm getting, is it safe to eat?" said Rowles, whose home freezer is full of his pork. "I'm telling you that the product that we produce today is the safest, most wholesome product that you could possibly get." _______ Some U.S. lawmakers are fighting for a new law that would ban farmers like Rowles from feeding antibiotics to their animals unless they are sick. "If you mixed an antibiotic in your child's cereal, people would think you're crazy," said Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-N.Y. Renewed pressure is on from Capitol Hill from Slaughter's bill and new rules discussed in regulatory agencies. There is also pressure from trade issues: The European Union and other developed countries have adopted strong limits against antibiotics. Russia recently banned pork imports from two U.S. plants after detecting levels of tetracycline that the USDA said met American standards. Farmers and drugmakers are battling back. Pharmaceutical companies have spent $135 million lobbying so far this year, and agribusiness companies another $70 million, on a handful of issues including fighting the proposed new limits. Opponents, many from farm states, say Slaughter's law is misguided. "Chaos will ensue," said Kansas Republican Congressman Jerry Moran. "The cultivation of crops and the production of food animals is an immensely complex endeavor involving a vast range of processes. We raise a multitude of crops and livestock in numerous regions, using various production methods. Imagine if the government is allowed to dictate how all of that is done." He's backed by an array of powerful interests, including the American Farm Bureau, the National Pork Producers Council, Eli Lilly&Co., Bayer AG, Pfizer Inc., Schering-Plough Corp., Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto Company, who have repeatedly defeated similar legislation. The FDA says without new laws its options are limited. The agency approved antibiotic use in animals in 1951, before concerns about drug resistance were recognized. The only way to withdraw that approval is through a drug-by-drug process that can take years of study, review and comment. In 1977 the agency proposed a ban on penicillin and tetracycline in animal feed, but it was defeated after criticism from interest groups. There has been one ban: In 2000, for the first time, the FDA ordered the poultry medication Baytril off the market. Five years later, after a series of failed appeals, poultry farmers stopped using the drug. In 2008 the FDA issued its second limit on an antibiotic used in cows, pigs and chickens, citing "the importance of cephalosporin drugs for treating disease in humans." But the Bush Administration - in an FDA note in the federal register - reversed that decision five days before it was going to take effect after receiving several hundred letters from drug companies and farm animal trade groups. Laura Rogers, who directs the Pew Charitable Trusts Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming in Washington D.C., says the federal government, from Congress to the administration, has failed to protect the public. "Because of poor regulations and oversight of drug use in industrial farm animals, consumers in the U.S. do not know what their food is treated with, or how often," she said. "Nor is there a system in place to test meat for dangerous antibiotic resistant bacteria." _______ Back in Missouri, farmer Kremer finally found an antibiotic that worked on his leg. After being released from the hospital, Kremer tested his pigs. The results showed they were resistant to all the same drugs he was. Kremer tossed his hypodermic needles, sacked his buckets of antibiotic-laced feed, slaughtered his herd and started anew. "I was wearing a syringe, like a holster, like a gun, because my pigs were all sick," he recalled. "I was really getting so sick and aggravated at what I was doing. I said, 'This isn't working.'" Today, when Kremer steps out of his dusty and dented pickup truck and walks toward the open-air barn in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, the animals come running. They snort and root at his knee-high gum boots. There are no gates corralling the 180 pigs in this barn. He points to a mound of composting manure. "There's no antibiotics in there," he says proudly. Kremer sells about 1,200 pigs annually. And a year after "kicking the habit," he says he saved about $16,000 in vet bills, vaccinations and antibiotics. "I don't know why it took me that long to wake up to the fact that what we were doing, it was not the right thing to do and that there were alternatives," says Kremer, stooping to scratch a pig behind the ear. "We were just basically killing ourselves and society by doing this." ____ Martha Mendoza is an AP national writer based in Mexico City. Margie Mason is an AP medical writer who reported from Missouri and Iowa while on a fellowship from The Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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