Glutamine Metabolism in Cancer Treatment Glucose and the amino acid glutamine are the two most important nutrients used by cancer cells for their proliferation and growth. While the glycolonic pathway produces ATP and metabolic intermediates, the metabolism of glutamine can provide amino acids, nucleic acids and glutathione necessary for cell proliferation. Among the various characteristics of cancer, metabolic transformation plays a key role in adapting cancer cells in a changing environment. Cancer cells carry ontigenic mutations, leading to an increase in nutrient uptake and altering their metabolism to support anabolic processes for cell growth and proliferation.

 Scientists have discovered a way to destroy cancer tumors using nothing but sound waves A recent breakthrough in high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy (HIFU) technology has proven its use as an effective cancer treatment. A multi-institutional research team from China developed a semi-enclosed, spherical cavity transducer that can produce a focused, standing-wave field with a subwavelength-scale focal region and extremely high ultrasound intensity.  The spherical cavity transducer appeared to generate tighter focal regions and greater pressure amplitude compared with the traditional concave spherical transducer. Researchers said the level of intensity generated by the new transducer design may lead to significant improvements in HIFU therapy. The findings were published in the Journal of Applied Physics.

   Mεταβολισμος Λιπιδίων σε Μεταστάσεις Τα καρκινικά κύτταρα συχνά εμφανίζουν ριζικά μεταβλητό κυτταρικό μεταβολισμό, ο οποίος παρέχει τη βιοχημική θεμελίωση και συμβάλλει άμεσα στην ογκογένεση και τη κακοήθεια. Η επανασύνδεση των μεταβολικών προγραμμάτων, όπως η αερόβια γλυκόλυση και ο αυξημένος μεταβολισμός της γλουταμίνης, είναι κρίσιμα για την αποβολή των καρκινικών κυττάρων από τον πρωτογενή όγκο, για την υπέρβαση του θρεπτικού και ενεργειακού ελλείμματος και τελικά για την επιβίωση και τη δημιουργία μεταστάσεων. 

 Immunodiagnosis and Immunotherapy: A new Era in Cancer with 25 monoclonal antibodies The PCS (Pioneer Centrury Science) conference based on China, organized a fantastic conference for cancer with the title: Stimulating Innovation to improve Quality of Life, which was held in Athens, Greece at November 15-16th. The president of the conference was Professor Dr. Chiming Wei, MD, PhD., assistant professor at May Clinic, USA, and director of Nanomedicin research Lab in John Hopkins University  School of Medicine.

 Artificial cells act more like the real thing Protocells -- artificial cells -- that are active and mimic living cells by moving independently and that are biocompatible and enzymatically active are now possible using an improved method developed by Penn State researchers. Living cells are difficult to grow in the laboratory, so researchers sometimes work with synthetic cells, but these have had research limitations because they lack real cell characteristics. "One of the challenges of cell research is it's sometimes very hard to run controlled experiments on a?cell's motility, especially due to surface enzyme activity," said Darrell Velegol, distinguished professor of chemical engineering. "The research team developed a simple way to make an artificial cell that doesn't do everything a regular cell does, like reproduce, have genetic mutations or anything like that, but it actively moves. That's important because how cells move is poorly un...

 Inhaled cannabis cuts headache and migraine severity by nearly half Inhaled cannabis reduces self-reported headache severity by 47.3% and migraine severity by 49.6%, according to a recent study led by Carrie Cuttler, a Washington State University assistant professor of psychology. The study, published online recently in the Journal of Pain, is the first to use big data from headache and migraine patients using cannabis in real time. Previous studies have asked patients to recall the effect of cannabis use in the past. There has been one clinical trial indicating that cannabis was better than ibuprofen in alleviating headache, but it used nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid drug.

 What Most Doctors REALLY Think About Alternative Cancer Treatments Authored By Ty Bollinger How receptive are most oncologists to using alternative cancer therapies for their patients? Not surprisingly, most medical practitioners are  apprehensive to their patients utilizing cancer treatments that are not considered “standard of care.” But not for the reasons you may think…which will be explained later in this article. Most physicians interviewed in Dr. Ivy Lynn Bourgeault’s (from the Canada Medical Association) research said they opposed the use of alternative cancer therapies for their patients. Yet, according to Dr. Bourgeault, “54% of people with cancer use alternative therapies and up to half of those patients completely abandon standard medical treatments in exchange for alternative methods.”

  Με ποιο Τρόπο ο Κουρκουμάς Προστατεύει τη Μνήμη μας; "Η μνήμη είναι ένα από τα αγαπημένα αντικέιμενα των επιστημόνων. Κι αυτό γιατί έχουν πάντα κάτι καινούργιο να ανακαλύψουν. Τώρα, νέα έρευνα Αμερικανών επιστημόνων δείχνει πως η κουρκουμίνη… βασικό συστατικό του κουρκουμά βοηθάει στην μνήμη μας. Ερευνητές διενήργησαν ένα πείραμα, για να καθορίσουν το πώς η κουρκουμίνη, η χημική ουσία που δίνει στο ινδικό κάρυ το ιδιαίτερο χρώμα του, επηρεάζει τον εγκέφαλο.

 Sunlight might Affect Gut Microbiome Diversity Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada have found a significant link between exposure to ultraviolet rays and an increase in gut bacterial diversity. The findings could prove important in managing autoimmune diseases known to be associated with gut bacterial diversity, such as inflammatory bowel disease. Ultraviolet (UV) designates a band of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths ranging from 10 nm to 400 nm, shorter than that of visible light but longer than X-rays. Our senses cannot detect UV rays — not until the damage is done — which is why they can be especially dangerous. Too much time in the sun causes sunburns, eye damage, accelerate aging, and skin cancer.

 Green Tea Used as Control Trigger for Activating Cell Therapies Remotely "A team of researchers with East China Normal University and First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University has found that it is possible to use green tea as a control mechanism for activating cell therapies remotely. In their paper published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the group describes testing the use of green tea as a control mechanism and how well it worked. As part of efforts to develop new treatments, medical scientists have been looking into cell-based therapies—but a means for delivering a given therapy to a targeted cell or group of cells must be available. One such technique under study is the use of remote-control systems in which a drug triggers the release of a therapeutic agent when it reaches its destination in the body. 

Το Κωνσταντίνειο Ερευνητικό Κέντρο στο 6ο Παγκόσμιο Συνέδριο της Κινεζικής Ομοσπονδίας PCS για τη Βελτίωση της Ποιότητας Ζωής των Καρκινοπαθών Η ομάδα του Ερευνητικού Κέντρου  θα συμμετέχει στο 6o ετήσιο παγκόσμιο συνέδριο της Κινέζικης ομοσπονδίας PCS (Pioneer Century Science) με θέμα την βελτίωση της ποιότητας της ζωής των καρκινοπαθών. Το Ερευνητικό μας Κέντρο, με στόχο την καταστολή των μοριακών δεικτών εξέλιξης  κακοηθών νεοπλασιών, εξασφαλίζει παράταση της ζωής και καλύτερη κλινική εικόνα των ασθενών. Τα παραπάνω εξασφαλίζονται με έλεγχο των πρωτεϊνών σηματοδότησης καρκινικών κυττάρων, ειδικά των καρκινικών βλαστοκυττάρων τα οποία είναι υπεύθυνα για την αναζωπύρωση και  ανοχή στις θεραπείες. Το Κωνσταντίνειο Ερευνητικό Κέντρο εκτός από τον ποσοτικό προσδιορισμό των παραπάνω βιοδεικτών, προτείνει και μεθόδους ελέγχου αυτών. Για κάθε ενδιαφερόμενο, το τελικό πρόγραμμα του συνεδρίου βρίσκεται στον παρακάτω σύνδεσμο:  http://www.pcscongress.com/gcc2...

 Τι Σχέση έχουν οι Φλεγμονώδεις Κυτοκίνες με την Κατάθλιψη; Η έρευνα δείχνει ότι η κατάθλιψη συνδέεται με την παρουσία φλεγμονωδών κυτοκινών, τόσο σε υγιείς όσο και σε άρρωστους ασθενείς. Οι κυτοκίνες παίζουν ρόλο στην ανάπτυξη και τη λειτουργία του εγκεφάλου και επηρεάζουν τα νευρικά κυκλώματα και τους πομπούς εντός του εγκεφάλου, προκαλώντας αλλαγές στη συμπεριφορά. Συγκεντρώνονται αποδείξεις ότι τα επίπεδα προ-φλεγμονωδών κυτοκινών όπως η ιντερλευκίνη (IL) -1, IL-6, ο παράγοντας νέκρωσης όγκων (TNF) -alfa και η C-αντιδρώσα πρωτεΐνη (CRP), συνδέονται με την ιδιοπαθή μείζονα κατάθλιψη. Και πάλι, όταν χορηγούνται φλεγμονώδεις κυτοκίνες ή όταν διεγείρεται το έμφυτο ανοσοποιητικό σύστημα, οι αποκρίσεις που προκύπτουν αποσκοπούν στην αποκατάσταση της φυσιολογικής λειτουργίας ελέγχοντας τη μόλυνση ή τον τραυματισμό. Με χρόνια διέγερση, ωστόσο, ή εάν το πρότυπο των νευροδιαβιβαστών στον εγκέφαλο παρουσιάζει επίμονες μεταβολές, η απάντηση μπορεί να είναι ψυχιατρικές παρεκκλίσ...

  Sweet Tooth: Two-Thirds of Drinks Sold to Children Are Sweetened An average half-liter bottle of soda contains the equivalent of 14 sugar cubes. While there is some variance between different sodas, virtually all sweetened drinks contain a high amount of sugar, and they rarely have any useful nutrients. Sugary drinks are an important part of why childhood obesity has spiked in recent years, rising by over 1000% in the past 40 years. Researchers assessed the top-selling brands of children’s drinks to see just how healthy or unhealthy they are. A total of 34 sweetened drinks (fruit drinks, flavored waters, and rink mixers) and 33 unsweetened drinks (fruit juice, juice-water blends, and one sparkling water) were analyzed.

Scientists help immune system find hidden cancer cells Cancer cells are masters at avoiding detection, but a new system developed by Yale scientists can make them stand out from the crowd and help the immune system spot and eliminate tumors that other forms of immunotherapies might miss, the researchers report Oct. 14 in the journal Nature Immunology. The new system reduced or eliminated melanoma and triple-negative breast and pancreatic tumors in mice, even those located far from the primary tumor source, the researchers report. "This is an entirely new form of immunotherapy," said Sidi Chen, assistant professor of genetics and senior author of the study. Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of cancer but existing therapies don't work on all patients or not at all against some cancers. Existing therapies sometimes fail to recognize all molecular disguises of cancer cells, rendering them less effective.

 New capsule can orally deliver drugs that usually have to be injected Many drugs, especially those made of proteins, cannot be taken orally because they are broken down in the gastrointestinal tract before they can take effect. One example is insulin, which patients with diabetes have to inject daily or even more frequently. In hopes of coming up with an alternative to those injections, MIT engineers, working with scientists from Novo Nordisk, have designed a new drug capsule that can carry insulin or other protein drugs and protect them from the harsh environment of the gastrointestinal tract. When the capsule reaches the small intestine, it breaks down to reveal dissolvable microneedles that attach to the intestinal wall and release drug for uptake into the bloodstream. "We are really pleased with the latest results of the new oral delivery device our lab members have developed with our collaborators, and we look forward to hopefully seeing it help people with diabete...

 What is the impact of cooked vs. raw food on the gut? "Because cooking involves exposing food to heat, it tends to change the various foods' physical and chemical properties. But do these alterations change the delicate microbial environment of the gut? That is the question that researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, Harvard University, in Cambridge, MA, and other institutions recently set out to answer. "Our lab and others have studied how different kinds of diet, such as vegetarian versus meat-based diets, impact the microbiome," says the senior author of the new study, Peter Turnbaugh, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

 R.A.D.A.R.: Η αντικειμενική ψηφιακή (digital) μέθοδος για τη δυσλεξία Μια πρωτοποριακή μέθοδος διάγνωσης της Δυσλεξίας παρουσιάστηκε για πρώτη φορά στο ελληνικό κοινό. Η μέθοδος R.A.D.A.R., που αποτελεί αρκτικόλεξο των αγγλικών λέξεων Rapid Assessment for Dyslexia and Abnormalities in Reading (Τάχιστη Αξιολόγηση Δυσλεξίας & Ανωμαλιών της Ανάγνωσης), παρουσιάστηκε σε συνέντευξη τύπου που πραγματοποιήθηκε στην Αίγλη Ζαππείου στις 14/3/2019. Η εκδήλωση πραγματοποιήθηκε από την Εμμετρωπία και την RADARMISSION, υπό την Αιγίδα του Ιατρικού Συλλόγου Αθηνών και του Ελληνικού Κολλεγίου Οφθαλμολογίας. Στην εκδήλωση μίλησαν ο Πρόεδρος του Ελληνικού Κολλεγίου Οφθαλμολογίας και Καθηγητής του Πανεπιστημίου Weill – Cornell των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών και του Πανεπιστημίου Wenzhou της Κίνας, Ιωάννης Ασλανίδης, ο Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής Νευρολογίας του Πανεπιστημίου Harvard Στέλιος Σμυρνάκης και ο Καθηγητής Οφθαλμολογίας του νοσοκομείου Jules Gonin της Ελβετίας και Καθηγητής Οφθαλμολογία...

Ultrasound can reveal gene expression in the body Some of the most important tools in the toolbox of modern cell biologists are special chunks of DNA that act like spies, reporting on the cell's function. The markers, known as reporter genes, allow researchers to get a sense for what cells are doing by watching genetic programs embedded in their DNA turn on and off. Reporter genes work by encoding proteins that can be seen from outside the cell. One particularly popular reporter gene encodes something called the green fluorescent protein (GFP), which, true to its name, is a protein that glows bright green. So, if a researcher wants to learn more about how cells become neurons, they can insert the GFP gene alongside a neuronal gene into an embryo's DNA. When the embryo's cells turn on the neuron gene, they will also express the GFP gene, and the cells will glow green, making it easy for the researcher to see that the genetic program that encodes neuron formation ...

Is Gluten Capable of Causing Problems to Healthy People? “Gluten” is an umbrella term for a mixture of various kinds of protein found in some grains. We’ve written extensively about gluten and gluten intolerance before, because there is a lot of general interest in gluten. Although it’s harmless for most of us, gluten can cause a lot of headaches for some people — or more specifically, bellyaches. However, the term “gluten intolerance” seems to be used improperly in many instances, and the market is taking advantage of this.     ‘“Lifestylers,” “free from,” or “people who avoid gluten” are individuals who avoid gluten as a lifestyle choice. American market research found that 44% of people buy gluten-free food for reasons other than gluten sensitivity and that 65% believe that a gluten-free diet is generally healthier. This trend has driven the worldwide gluten-free industry from values of $1.7 billion in 2011 to $3.5 billion in 2016, and it is forecast to reach $...

How babies absorb calcium could be key to treating osteoporosis in seniors New research reveals the mechanism that allows breastfeeding babies to absorb large amounts of calcium and build healthy bones -- a discovery that could lead to treatment for osteoporosis and other bone diseases later in life. "We build our bone mineral density until we're early adults and then stop, so we think of osteoporosis as a disease of the elderly," said Megan Beggs, a pediatric dietitian and PhD candidate in physiology at the University of Alberta who led the study.

  Taking birth control pills as a teenager may increase risk of depression The pill is one of the great success stories of modern medicine. When it became widely available in the 1960s, it helped to revolutionize the role of women in society by giving them unprecedented control over their fertility. Today, more than 100 million women around the world take hormonal birth control pills and they are particularly popular among teenagers. The pill is, of course, a highly efficient method for preventing unintended pregnancies. Even some women who are not sexually active use it for other reasons, including to reduce menstrual pain or treat acne. However, it was originally developed as a medication for adults, and much remains unknown about the potential side effects for younger users.

Breast cancer can form 'sleeper cells' after drug treatment Breast cancer medicines may force some cancer cells into 'sleeper mode', allowing them to potentially come back to life years after initial treatment. These are the early-stage findings from scientists at Imperial College London, who studied human breast cancer cells in the laboratory. The team, who studied a group of breast cancer drugs called hormone treatments, say their research opens avenues for finding ways of keeping the cancer cells dormant for longer, or even potentially finding a way of awakening the cells so they can then be killed by the treatment. Dr Luca Magnani, lead author of the study from Imperial's Department of Surgery and Cancer said: "For a long time scientists have debated whether hormone therapies -- which are a very effective treatment and save millions of lives -- work by killing breast cancer cells or whether the drugs flip them into a dormant 'sleeper' stat...

Οι Σημαντικές Ιδιότητες του Ακατέργαστου Κακάο για την Καθημερινότητά σας Το κακάο, που προέρχεται από τον καρπό του κακαόδεντρου, θεωρείται από τις καλύτερες υπερτροφές, και όχι άδικα. Η επιστημονική του ονομασία είναι “theobroma cacao” και προέρχεται από τις ελληνικές λέξεις το “βρώμα των Θεών”. Είναι, δηλαδή, η τροφή των Θεών. Παρακάτω παρατίθενται κάποια σημαντικά χαρακτηριστικά του, ώστε να γνωρίζουμε τα πάντα σχετικά με τη μοναδική αυτή υπερτροφή:

image credit: medicalnewstoday.com Plasmas are created from gas that is pumped with energy. Today, plasmas are already used against multi-resistant pathogens in clinical applications, for example to treat chronic wounds.  "Plasmas provide a complex cocktail of components, many of which act as disinfectants in their own right," explains Professor Julia Bandow, head of the RUB research group Applied Microbiology. UV radiation, electric fields, atomic oxygen, superoxide, nitric oxides, ozone, and excited oxygen or nitrogen affect the pathogens simultaneously, generating considerable stress. Typically, the pathogens survive merely several seconds or minutes. In order to find out if bacteria, may develop resistance against the effects of plasmas, like they do against antibiotics, the researchers analysed the entire genome of the model bacterium Escherichia coli, short E. coli, to identify existing protective mechanisms. "Resistance means that a genetic change causes...

image credit: medicalrecruitment.com.au  Αρθρίτιδα: Ποιά η Σχέση της με την Κατάθλιψη; Αλληλοεξαρτώμενη έχει αποδειχθεί ότι είναι η σχέση μεταξύ οποιασδήποτε μορφής αρθρίτιδας και κατάθλιψης. Μελέτες δείχνουν ότι η ρευματοειδής, η ψωριασική και η ουρική αρθρίτιδα, η οστεοαρθρίτιδα και τόσες άλλες μορφές της προκαλούν κατάθλιψη και άγχος στους πάσχοντες. Η σχέση, ωστόσο, λειτουργεί και αντίστροφα, καθώς τα προβλήματα ψυχικής υγείας μπορούν να επιδεινώσουν την πάθηση. «Η αρθρίτιδα είναι μια πολύ συχνή, χρόνια και δαπανηρή νόσος που μπορεί να οδηγήσει τους ηλικιωμένους σε αναπηρία. Σύμφωνα με έρευνα, η συχνότητα εμφάνισής της αυξάνεται από 24,3% στους ενήλικες ηλικίας άνω των 45 ετών, σε 47,4% στους ενήλικες ηλικίας άνω των 65 ετών.  Παραμένει μια σημαντική αιτία λειτουργικής αδυναμίας, με τα ποσοστά περιορισμού της δραστηριότητας που οφείλονται σ’ αυτήν να είναι υψηλά και να αυξάνονται με την πάροδο του χρόνου. 

Mutations in the gene that codes for SLIT2, a protein expressed in fetal cells in placentas and involved in directing the growth of the fetal nervous system, may contribute to premature births, possibly by activating the mother's immune system. Mika Rämet of the University of Oulu and colleagues report these findings in a new study published 13th June in PLOS Genetics. More than 10 percent of babies worldwide are born prematurely, which is the leading cause of newborn death and a source of lifelong complications. Preterm birth can run in families, suggesting that there are underlying genetic factors in the mother and the fetus that contribute to the problem. 

A finding from University of Alberta researchers is shining new light on the role fibrinogen has in regulating a natural defence mechanism in the body. The discovery is hoped to contribute to improved diagnosis and treatments for patients in a variety of diseases ranging from inflammation, to heart failure, to cancer. Fibrinogen is a well-known protein that is essential for wound healing and blood clotting in the body. But a study published in Scientific Reports shows it is also a natural inhibitor of an enzyme named MMP2 that is important for normal organ development and repair. MMP2 is typically found in increased levels in the blood in disease conditions. The researchers believe a vital function of fibrinogen is to allow or disallow the enzyme to carry out its normal functions. However, high levels of fibrinogen may excessively inhibit MMP2, which could result in arthritic and cardiac disorders similar to those seen in patients with MMP2 gene deficiency.

People with autism often suffer from gut problems, but nobody has known why. Researchers have now discovered the same gene mutations -- found both in the brain and the gut -- could be the cause. The discovery confirms a gut-brain nervous system link in autism, opening a new direction in the search for potential treatments that could ease behavioural issues associated with autism by targeting the gut. Chief Investigator Associate Professor Elisa Hill-Yardin, RMIT University, said scientists trying to understand autism have long been looking in the brain, but the links with the gut nervous system have only been recently explored.

image credit: veeterzy on Unsplash Air pollution threatens the health of more than 90% of the world’s population — and it all starts with changes triggered at the molecular level. In a newly published study which followed pollution levels before, during, and after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, researchers at the University of Buffalo found that 69 metabolites were affected when air pollution changed. Metabolites are the end products of the body’s metabolism as well as the results of environmental exposures. Beijing, a city numbering over 21 million people, is one of the most polluted cities in the world. But during the 2008 Olympic Games, local authorities enacted temporary measures that cleared the air — at least for the duration of the games. While most of the world’s population focuses their attention on global terrorism and economics, scientists are becoming increasingly alarmed at how air pollution affects human health. Research indicates that 5.5 million people around the...

image credit: success-resources.com.au Very often, people who had a rich upbringing and come from a good family — let’s  call them high-class  — seem to be able to convince other people that they’re more competent than they actually are. Whether it’s some politicians or the head of marketing at your company, examples of this effect are abundant. And according to a new study performed by psychologists at the University of Virginia, this effect can be explained by overconfidence, which stranger misinterpret as competence. Yet another advantage of higher social class     “Drawing on a collection of findings suggesting that different social class contexts have powerful effects on people’s sense of self, we propose that social class shapes the beliefs that people hold about their abilities, and that this, in turn, has important implications for how status hierarchies perpetuate,” the authors wrote in their study published in the Journal of Personality and Socia...

"As hosting gigs go, it's a tough crowd. More than 1 billion people are host to parasitic worms that take up residence in their intestines. For most, it's a short stay, with the immune system evicting the worms in days or weeks and leaving no trace that the parasites were ever there. In a small percentage of people and other animals, though, the worms gain a permanent mouth-hold and can stick around the intestines for years. That persistence often leads to malnutrition, which in turn tightens the grip of infection, initiating a spiral that becomes difficult to escape. The question of why that small percentage struggles to expel parasites has stymied researchers for a while. But a new mathematical model developed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research offers an answer while reinforcing an adage: safety in numbers. Clay Cressler, Anieke van Leeuwen and their colleagues have concluded that when large numbers of worms stake...

image credit: newstarget.com Washington State University researchers have found a variety of diseases and other health problems in the second- and third-generation offspring of rats exposed to glyphosate, the world's most popular weed killer. In the first study of its kind, the researchers saw descendants of exposed rats developing prostate, kidney and ovarian diseases, obesity and birth abnormalities. Michael Skinner, a WSU professor of biological sciences, and his colleagues exposed pregnant rats to the herbicide between their eighth and 14th days of gestation. The dose -- half the amount expected to show no adverse effect -- produced no apparent ill effects on either the parents or the first generation of offspring. But writing in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers say they saw "dramatic increases" in several pathologies affecting the second and third generations. The second generation had "significant increases" in testis, ovary and mamma...

Οι απεικονιστικές μέθοδοι αποτελούν μία από τις μεγαλύτερες κατακτήσεις για τη διάγνωση πολλών παθήσεων. Μπορούν να απεικονίσουν με μεγάλη ευκρίνεια τα εσωτερικά μας όργανα και να δώσουν χρήσιμες πληροφορίες για δυσλειτουργίες που μπορεί να εκδηλωθούν εκεί.  Είναι από τα μεγαλύτερα όπλα που διαθέτουν οι γιατροί προκειμένου να κάνουν σωστή διάγνωση και στη συνέχεια να καταστρώσουν το θεραπευτικό τους σχέδιο. Θα μπορούσε, όμως, κάποιος να υποβάλλεται σε τέτοιου είδους εξετάσεις μία φορά το χρόνο, στο πλαίσιο του τσεκάπ;

image credit: myfooddiary.com "Two papers appearing April 18 in the journal Cell Metabolism confirm that the circadian clock is an important factor in how the body responds to physical exertion. The studies focused on different components of exercise, thereby complementing each other. Based on this work alone, it's too early to say when the best time is for you to go for a jog. But at least in the lab, exercise in the evening seems to be more productive, although human lifestyles are much more complicated and so this area of research is only just beginning. "It's quite well known that almost every aspect of our physiology and metabolism is dictated by the circadian clock," says Gad Asher of the Department of Biomolecular Sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science, who is senior author of one of the studies. "This is true not only in humans but in every organism that is sensitive to light. We decided to ask whether there is a connection between the t...

Η μείωση της «κακής» χοληστερίνης (LDL) θεωρείται επιθυμητή, καθώς μειώνεται έτσι ο καρδιαγγειακός κίνδυνος για έμφραγμα ή εγκεφαλικό. Όμως μια νέα αμερικανική επιστημονική έρευνα δείχνει ότι, κάτω από ένα όριο, η πολύ χαμηλή «κακή» χοληστερίνη μπορεί να αυξήσει στις γυναίκες τον κίνδυνο αιμορραγικού εγκεφαλικού επεισοδίου. Κάτι ανάλογο ισχύει και για τα πολύ χαμηλά τριγλυκερίδια. Ιδανικά η λιποπρωτεΐνη χαμηλής πυκνότητας (LDL), που θεωρείται «κακή» επειδή μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε εναπόθεση λιπιδίων μέσα στις αρτηρίες, πρέπει να είναι κάτω από 100 mg/dL. Όμως σε επίπεδα κάτω από 70 mg/dL ο κίνδυνος για αιμορραγικό εγκεφαλικό αυξάνει και είναι υπερδιπλάσιος, σε σχέση με τις γυναίκες των οποίων η «κακή» χοληστερίνη κυμαίνεται μεταξύ 100 και 130.

A new Northwestern University study challenges prevailing understandings of genes as immutable features of biology that are fixed at conception. Previous research has shown that socioeconomic status (SES) is a powerful determinant of human health and disease, and social inequality is a ubiquitous stressor for human populations globally. Lower educational attainment and/or income predict increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, many cancers and infectious diseases, for example. Furthermore, lower SES is associated with physiological processes that contribute to the development of disease, including chronic inflammation, insulin resistance and cortisol dysregulation. In this study, researchers found evidence that poverty can become embedded across wide swaths of the genome. They discovered that lower socioeconomic status is associated with levels of DNA methylation (DNAm) -- a key epigenetic mark that has the potential to shape gene expression -- at more than 2,500 sites, across m...

 Βιοχημικές, Αιματολογικές και Ενδοκρινολογικές Εξετάσεις Βιολογικών Υγρών Το Κωνσταντίνειο Ερευνητικό Κέντρο σε συνεργασία με μικροβιολογικά εργαστήρια συμβουλεύει-προτείνει και κλασικές εξετάσεις αίματος και βιολογικών υγρών.  Σήμερα, ο ρόλος της Μικροβιολογίας γίνεται σημαντικότερος και ουσιαστικότερος στην Προληπτική Ιατρική. Οι περισσότερες ασθένειες σήμερα είναι εφικτό να διαγνωστούν πρόωρα και να αντιμετωπισθούν με επιτυχία. Ο προληπτικός έλεγχος είναι πλέον υποχρέωση του σύγχρονου ανθρώπου στον εαυτό του και την κοινωνία.  Οι εξετάσεις συνήθως που διερευνούνται είναι Αιματολογικές εξετάσεις, Βιοχημικές εξετάσεις, Ορμονολογικές – Ενδοκρινολογικές εξετάσεις, Ορολογικές εξετάσεις, Καλλιέργειες, Ανοσολογικές εξετάσεις, Εξετάσεις Πηκτικότητας, Αντισώματα, Ανοσοσφαιρίνες – Ειδικές Πρωτεΐνες, Έλεγχος Γονιμότητας, Εξετάσεις Σπέρματος, Ηλεκτροφορήσεις, Νεοπλασματικοί – Καρκινικοί δείκτες, Προγεννητικός έλεγχος χρωμοσωμιακών ανωμαλιών, Διαβήτης, Οστεοπόρω...

 Αυτά είναι τα Χαρακτηριστικά που μας Χαρίζουν 10 Χρόνια Επιπλέον Ζωής   Μία νέα έρευνα από το Πανεπιστήμιο του Χάρβαρντ εντόπισε τα πέντε χαρακτηριστικά που θα μπορούσαν να προσθέσουν μία δεκαετία στο προσδόκιμο ζωής, μεταξύ αυτών η ισορροπημένη διατροφή και η συστηματική άσκηση. Αυτά που προκάλεσαν όμως μεγαλύτερη έκπληξη είναι το πόσο σεξ κάνουμε αλλά και η καθυστέρηση της συνταξιοδότησής μας. Οι ερευνητές του Πανεπιστημίου του Όρεγκον Στέιτ ανακάλυψαν ότι οι υγιείς ενήλικες που πήρανε σύνταξη στα 66, αντί για τα 65, είχαν 11% χαμηλότερο ρίσκο θανάτου. Ακόμα και εκείνοι που δεν ήταν υγιείς, διέτρεχαν 9% χαμηλότερο κίνδυνο εάν δούλευαν ένα χρόνο παραπάνω.