Barron's Medical Journal

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Mitochondria DNA Produce Energy To Fight 80% of Breast Cancer Patients Tumors:

Barron’s Medical Journal Reporting from The University of Texas located In The Great American City of Austin, Texas USA

Mitochondria DNA Produce Energy To Fight 80% of Breast Cancer Patients Tumors:

Austin ( AP ) In research conducted, scientists found evidence that chronic heavy alcohol use affects a gene involved in mitochondrial repair and muscle regeneration Help Fight Breast Cancer

Mitofusin-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MFN1gene mitochondrion is a membrane-bound organelle found in most eukaryotic cells (the cells that make up plants, animals, fungi, and many other forms of life)

Research gives scientist the insight into why chronic heavy drinking often saps muscle strength and can also lead to new targets for medication development.

When mitochondria are damaged, they fuse with other, healthy mitochondria and exchange contents. The damaged parts are segregated for recycling, and properly functioning proteins are donated from healthy mitochondria to replace them. Mitochondria are necessary for the body because they are Brought To You By 2014 Cadillac ELR organelles that produce the energy needed for muscle, brain, and every other cell type in the body.

Mitochondria, the “powerhouses” of mammalian cells, are also a signaling hub. They are heavily involved in cellular metabolism as well as in apoptosis, the process of programmed cell death by which potentially cancerous cells can be killed before they multiply and spread. In addition, mitochondria contain their own genomes, which code for specific proteins and are expressed in coordination with nuclear DNA to regulate the provision of energy to cells. In mammals, each cell contains between 100 and 1,000 copies of mitochondrial DNA, but previous research had found that as many as 80 percent of people with breast cancer have low mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, content.

Most genes contain the information needed to make functional molecules called proteins. (A few genes produce other molecules that help the cell assemble proteins.) The journey from gene to protein is complex and tightly controlled within each cell. It consists of two major steps: transcription and translation. Together, transcription and translation are known as gene expression.

During the process of transcription, the information stored in a gene’s DNA is transferred to a similar molecule called RNA (ribonucleic acid) in the cell nucleus. Both RNA and DNA are made up of a chain of nucleotide bases, but they have slightly different chemical properties. The type of RNA that contains the information for making a protein is called messenger RNA (mRNA) because it carries the information, or message, from the DNA out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm.

Translation, the second step in getting from a gene to a protein, takes place in the cytoplasm. The mRNA interacts with a specialized complex called a ribosome, which “reads” the sequence of mRNA bases. Each sequence of three bases, called a codon, usually codes for one particular amino acid. (Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.) A type of RNA called transfer RNA (tRNA) assembles the protein, one amino acid at a time. Protein assembly continues until the ribosome encounters a “stop” codon (a sequence of three bases that does not code for an amino acid).

The flow of information from DNA to RNA to proteins is one of the fundamental principles of molecular biology and breast cancer. It is so important that it is sometimes called the “central dogma ".

Several characteristics make mitochondria unique. The number of mitochondria in a cell varies widely by organism and tissue type. Many cells have only a single mitochondrion, whereas others can contain several thousand mitochondria. The organelle is composed of compartments that carry out specialized functions. These compartments or regions include the outer membrane, the intermembrane space, theinner membrane, and the cristae and matrix. Mitochondrial proteins vary depending on the tissue and the species. In humans, 615 distinct types of proteins have been identified from cardiac mitochondria, whereas in-rats, 940 proteins have been reported. The mitochondrial proteome is thought to be dynamically regulated.[11] Although most of a cell's DNA is contained in the cell nucleus, the mitochondrion has its own independent genome.

Scientists have known that fusion is a major method for mitochondrial repair for many types of cells in the body, but they have been puzzled over the method for repair in skeletal muscle. Because skeletal muscle relies on mitochondria for constant power, this makes repair a frequent necessity. Most researchers, however, have assumed that fusion was impossible because the mitochondria in this type of cell are squeezed so tightly in between the packed fibers of the muscle cells.

Mitochondria are cellular structures that generate most of the energy needed by cells. Skeletal muscle constantly relies on mitochondria for power. When mitochondria become damaged, they can repair themselves through a process called mitochondrial fusion — joining with other mitochondria and exchanging material such as DNA. Although well known in many other tissues, the current study is the first to show that mitochondria in skeletal muscle are capable of undergoing fusion as a repair mechanism. It had been thought that this type of mitochondrial self-repair was unlikely in the packed fibers of the skeletal muscle cells, as mitochondria have little opportunity to interact in the narrow space between the thread-like structures called myofilaments that make up muscle.

By tagging mitochondria in the skeletal tissue of rats with different colors, the researchers were able to observe the process in action and confirm that mitochondrial fusion occurs in muscle cells. They also identified a key protein in the process, mitofusin 1 (Mfn1) fusion proteins, and showed that chronic alcohol use interferes with the process.

In rats that were given an alcohol diet, Mfn1 levels decreased as much as 50 percent while other fusion proteins were unchanged. This decrease in Mfn1 was coupled with a dramatic decrease in mitochondrial fusion. When Mfn1 returned to normal, mitochondrial fusion did as well.

“That alcohol can have a specific effect on this one gene involved in mitochondrial fusion suggests that other environmental factors may also alter specifically mitochondrial fusion and repair,” said Dr. Hajnoczky. He also suggested that identifying the proteins involved in mitochondrial fusion may aid in drug development for alcohol-related muscle weakness.

Research into two mitochondrial diseases — Autosomal Dominant Optical Atropy (ADOA) disease and a type of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease — led to the idea that fusion might be crucial for normal muscle function. Both diseases share a symptom — muscle weakness — and a mutation in one of the three genes that are involved in mitochondrial fusion.

that alcohol can have a specific effect on this one gene involved in mitochondrial fusion suggests that other environmental factors may also specifically alter mitochondrial fusion and repair,”

“The work provides more evidence to support the concept that fission and fusion — or mitochondrial dynamics — may be responsible for more than just a subset of mitochondrial diseases we know of “In addition, knowing the proteins involved in the process gives us the possibility of developing a drug.”

The protein encoded by this gene is a mediator of mitochondrial fusion. This protein and mitofusin 2 are homologs of the Drosophilaprotein fuzzy onion (Fzo). They are mitochondrial membrane proteins that interact with each other to facilitate mitochondrial targeting

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The Next Governor Of Texas Will Find A Breast Cancer Cure:

Barron’s Medical Journal Robert Graham Ph.D. reporting from The Great State of Texas In Dallas, Texas, USA

The Next Governor Of Texas Will Find A Breast Cancer Cure: Dallas Texas (AP)--- The Texas Governor’s race is going to be one of the most important governor’s races in the United States. The next governor of Texas will be the governor responsible for making a breast cancer cure a reality.

Barron's Medical Journal Dedicates This Article To The Great Literary Master . . . " Gabriel Garcia Marquez " R.I.P

Wendy Russell Davis is an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Fort Worth, Texas. Davis represents District 10 in the Texas Senate. She previously served on the Fort Worth city council.

Gregory Wayne Abbott, known as Greg Abbott, is an American lawyer and politician. He is the 50th Attorney General of Texas and the Republican gubernatorial nominee in the general election scheduled on November 4, 2014.

Barron’s Medical Journal is excited, the rest of the science and medical communities are coming on board with genomics science and genomic testing. For a example a genomics test called the cMethDNA assay, accurately detected the presence of cancer DNA in the blood of patients with metastatic breast cancers up to 95 percent of the time in laboratory studies. The findings were described in the April 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research.

To design the test, Sukumar and her team scanned the genomes of primary breast cancer patients, as well as DNA from the blood of metastatic cancer patients. They selected 10 genes specifically altered in breast cancers, including newly identified genetic markers AKR1B1, COL6A2, GPX7, HIST1H3C, HOX B4, RASGRF2, as well as TM6SF1, RASSF1, ARHGEF7, and TMEFF2, which Sukumar's team had previously linked to primary breast cancer.

The test, developed by Sukumar, collaborator Mary Jo Fackler, Ph.D., and other scientists, detects so-called hypermethyation, a type of chemical tag in one or more of the breast cancer-specific genes present in tumor DNA and detectable in cancer patients' blood samples. Hypermethylation often silences Brought To You By 2014 Cadillac ELR genes that keep runaway cell growth in check, and its appearance in the DNA of breast cancer-related genes shed into the blood indicates that cancer has returned or spread.

CPRIT Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas The next Texas governor has the CPRIT Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas. The Austin-based CPRIT was created in 2007 when Texas voters agreed to a US$3-billion initiative that would spend $300 million a year to advance basic research, reduce cancer rates and nurture Texas companies. Since then, the state agency has awarded 427 grants totaling more than $750 million, with $574 million designated for scientific research and the rest for commercialization and prevention. Its funding of innovative research has won accolades. Controversy erupted in May after Gilman, who won the 1994 medicine Nobel, tendered his resignation in a strongly worded letter criticizing a $20-million commercial ‘incubator’ grant that had been awarded without scientific review. Much of the grant was slated for a group led by Lynda Chin at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where Chin’s husband, Ronald DePinho, is president. CPRIT internal correspondence that was subsequently made public through freedom-of-information rules suggests that the grant criteria were tailored to improve Chin’s eligibility At the same time as the incubator grant was awarded, a set of grants recommended for approval by the CPRIT’s scientific council stalled. Gilman said that he would remain with the CPRIT until the autumn. Over the summer, the contentious $20-million grant was withdrawn for ‘re-review’, and provisions were made for scientific review of all commercial grants. The previously sidelined grants were approved (as were all grants recommended by reviewers), and a compliance officer was hired to prevent submission irregularities

Texas Based Sam Houston Biotech and other will have the resources and the intellectual property to develop a cure for cancer.

Sam Houston Breast Cancer Researchers and Scientist are ahead of the curve with several new technologies based on Nanoparticles and Semi Conductors Namely Genomics and treatments.

The field of genomics is caught in a data deluge. Targeted breast cancer DNA sequencing is becoming faster and cheaper at a pace far outstripping Moore’s law, which describes the rate at which computing gets faster and cheaper.

The result is that the ability to determine Targeted breast cancer DNA sequences is starting to outrun the ability of researchers to store, transmit and especially to analyze the data.

The cost of sequencing a human genome — all three billion bases of DNA in a set of human chromosomes — plunged to $10,000.00 which means genomics breast cancer DNA sequencing is around $3000.00.

The lower cost, along with increasing speed, has led to a huge increase in how much breast Cancer sequencing data is being produced.

Numerous investigations have shown that both tissue and cell distribution profiles of anticancer drugs can be controlled by their entrapment in submicronic colloidal systems (nanoparticles). The rationale behind this approach is to increase antitumor efficacy, while reducing systemic side-effects. This review provides an update of tumor targeting with conventional or long-circulating nanoparticles. The in vivo fate of these systems, after intravascular or tumoral administration, is discussed, as well as the mechanism involved in tumor regression. Nanoparticles are also of benefit for the selective delivery of oligonucleotides to tumor cells. Moreover, certain types of nanoparticles showed some interesting capacity to reverse MDR resistance, which is a major problem in chemotherapy. The first experiments, aiming to decorate nanoparticles with molecular ligand for active targeting of cancerous cells

Miniaturization will allow the tools for many different tests to be situated together on the same small device. Hybrid Sam Houston Researchers Say that nanotechnology will allow them to run many diagnostic tests simultaneously.

Nanoparticles nanoshells is use to antibodies that recognize cancer cells. Sam Houston scientist envision letting these nanoshells seek out their cancerous targets, then applying near-infrared light. The heat generated by the light-absorbing nanoshells can successfully killed breast cancer tumor cells while leaving neighboring cells intact.

A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. It's difficult to imagine anything so small, but think of something only 1/80,000 the width of a human hair. Ten hydrogen atoms could be laid side-by-side in a single nanometer.

Sam Houston minuscule molecule that will be used to detect breast cancer is a quantum dot. Quantum dots are tiny crystals that glow when they are stimulated by ultraviolet light. The wavelength, or color, of the light depends on the size of the crystal. Latex beads filled with these crystals can be designed to bind to specific DNA sequences. Hybrid Sam Houston understands that Hyperthermia gold nanoshell Targeted breast cancer genomics at 40 for high risk women will reduce breast cancer at 60 years of Age. Training Genomics Counselor and Storing DNA Analysis in the cloud will allow Hybrid Sam Houston to say that Chemotherapy will help their breast cancer outcome or if Chemotheraphy and Hyperthermia will extend their life.

Baylor College Of Medicine and Dr. Rothberg really means is that he wants to do for DNA sequencing what Mr. Jobs did for computing — spread it to the masses. Dr. Rothberg is the founder of Ion Torrent, which last month began selling a sequencer it calls the Personal Genome Machine. While most sequencers cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and are at least the size of small refrigerators, this machine sells for just under $50,000 and is the size of a largish desktop printer The Ion Proton Sequencer, produced by San Francisco-based Life Technologies Corp., is currently one of just three worldwide—the others are being deployed at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, Texas, and the Broad Institute, in Cambridge, Mass. The machine, about the size of a laser printer, was developed in part by Yale alumnus Jonathan M. Rothberg, Ph.D., a pioneer in DNA sequencing technology. Most sequencers require weeks or months, and many thousands of dollars, to sequence a human genome. The Ion Proton’s power and speed are due to advanced semiconductor chips that capture the chemistry of a DNA sample in much the same way as a digital camera captures light. The new equipment promises to be a boon to many projects undertaken at Yale, including the new effort to uncover the causes of rare genetic diseases.

Companies like Illumina, will be a big part of the success of a breast cancer cure. Illumina goal is to apply innovative sequencing and array technologies to the analysis of genetic variation and function, making studies possible that were not even imaginable just a few years ago. These studies will help make the realization of personalized medicine possible. With such rapid advances in technology taking place, it is mission critical to have solutions that are not only innovative, but flexible, scalable, and complete with industry-leading support and service.

As a global company that places high value on collaborative interactions, rapid delivery of solutions, and prioritizing the needs of its customers, we strive to meet this challenge. Illumina’s innovative sequencing and array-based solutions for genomic analysis serve as tools for disease research, drug discovery, and the development of molecular tests in clinical labs.

Get ready Susan Komen and others a cure will happen during the next Texas Governors’ term.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

18% Of Breast Cancer Patients Used To Die 1 Year After Diagnoses Until President Obama Affordable Care Act

Barron’s Medical Journal reporting from The University Of Texas located in Austin Texas USA

18% Of Breast Cancer Patients Used To Die 1 Year After Diagnoses Until President Obama Affordable Care Act

Austin Texas ( AP )--- President Obama and the Affordable Care Act has given Breast Cancer patients and their love ones a reason to celebrate. By the end of President Obama second term a breast cancer cure can be reached.

So many American breast cancer patients had their first breast cancer diagnoses when they were in stage IV breast cancer. The number one reason for this was that too many patients, just did not go to the Doctor. Now that the Affordable Care Act has enrolled over seven million Americans, eighteen percent will be diagnosed in stage I.

Affordable Care Act (ACA) by design will reduce the breast cancer rates, that is now 18% in the African American Women, to fewer than 5%.

Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obama-care, is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act

On October 1, 2013 The Health Insurance Marketplace was open. Americans was able to w enroll in a health insurance plan that covers essential benefits, pre-existing conditions, and preventive services. Most people who apply for coverage will qualify for lower costs of some kind in the Marketplace. Four things you can do before you apply.

April 1, 2014 the expectation of 7 million customers, the morning after the six-month enrollment window closed at midnight Monday, means that the marketplaces proved more popular in their final days than anyone expected.

Tuesday morning, federal health officials were rushing to compile an official tally, including figures from the final days of enrollment in 14 separate state-run insurance exchanges as well as the total from the federal marketplace operating in three dozen states, according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity about work going on behind the scenes. Administration officials were trying to have a firm figure to announce later in the day, although the timing of such an announcement remains uncertain.

The extent of the new insurance’s popularity carries significant political implications for a law that has been a source of deep partisan division ever since it was enacted four years ago. The Obama administration and its allies have predicted that the American public would be attracted to health plans — and the law that created them — once they actually were given an opportunity to gain the insurance. Republicans have predicted that the law is fatally flawed and would be spurned.

Barron’s Medical Journal Ask Rose Conrad Ph.D. C.E.O Of Sam Houston Biotech to talk about how breast cancer works to destroy a patient’s life. Conrad says that no one dies of breast cancer only when breast cancer spreads to your lungs. If you get a breast cancer genomics test by the age of forty you have a ninety four percent chance to live to sixty. Conrad gose on to say Breast Cancer and HIF-1 Is Why ObamaCare must stay in place. To stop breast cancer from spreading to the patients lungs. Breast cancer spreading to the lungs is the number one reason breast cancer patients expire. Primary Care Physicians and Obama Care is key to prevent women expiring from breast cancer and extend their life.

Sam Houston Biotechnology Scientist Using Genomics has made progress in Houston working with HIF-1. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a transcriptional activator forbreast cancer. Advances in biochemical purifica- tion, molecular characterization and cellular - molecular biol- ogy ofHIF-1. Sam Houston found involvement in human breast cancer progression, based on the analysis of human breast cancer biopsies and experimental animal mice models. HIF-1 as a therapeutic target can extend the life of many stage four breast Cancer patients.

Sam Houston discovered The tumor suppressors VHL (von Hippel-Lindau protein) and p53 target HIF-1α for ubiquitination to inactivation breast cancer tumors cells increases the of HIF-1. This process Increased phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and AKT. In breast cancer, increased activity of the HER2 (also known as neu) receptor tyrosine kinase is associated with increased tumor grade, chemotherapy resistance, and decreased patient survival. HER2 has also been implicated as an inducer of VEGF expression. Sam Houston demonstrate that HER2 signaling induced by overexpression in mouse 3T3 cells or human MCF-7 breast cancer cells results in increased HIF-1α protein and VEGF mRNA expression that is dependent upon activity of PI3K, AKT (also known as protein kinase B), and the downstream kinase FRAP (FKBP-rapamycin-associated protein)

Sam Houston concern with patients with diabetes and breast cancer may not receive full Benefit of HIF-1. All women having access to a physician can have access to HIF-1. Genomics provide a faster cheaper more effective way to detecting Breast Cancer by using Semiconductor Sequencing. A example of this technique is Sam Houston Semiconductor Sequencing. "Quantum Theory" In Action for Breast Cancer Patients.

A polymerase is an enzyme whose central function is associated with polymers of nucleic acids such as RNA and DNA. The primary function of a polymerase is the polymerization of new DNA or RNA against an existing DNA or RNA template in the processes of replication and transcription. In association with a Sam Houston also uses a Visualize Real-Time Breast Cancer Data using Signal Stochastic Resonance Units Neurons Detection and Analysis for Breast Cancer model after McCulloch-Pitts. Gennxeix. computer-assisted diagnosing of breast cancer from mammograms. Sam Houston works is a genetic network simulation trained with tumor incidence data from knockout experiments.

Sam Houston uses Semiconductor Sequencing Chips that create a direct connection between Biochemical and digital information, bringing these two languages together. Gennxeix's chips are designed like any other semiconductor chips.

Pairing proprietary semiconductor technology with sequencing chemistry a nucleotide is incorporated into a strand of DNA by a polymerase, a hydrogen ion is released. Sam Houston used a high-density array of micro-machined wells for bioctechnology process in a massive way. Each well holds a different DNA template. Beneath the wells is an ion-sensitive layer and beneath that a proprietary Ion sensor.

Genomics can be the GPS to Extend life in Breast Cancer Patients.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Women The Males In Your Family Over 50 Must Have This list of Vitamins & Nutrients In Their Diets To Stop Prostate Cancer

Barron’s Medical Journal Reporting from University of Miami Miami, Fl USA

Women The Males In Your Family Over 50 Must Have This list of Vitamins & Nutrients In Their Diets To Stop Prostate Cancer

Miami Florida (AP)---- Barron’s Medical Journal asks how many people have someone in their family that has prostate cancer. The result of our survey says ----- 1 in 4 people has a relative or friends that have experiences prostate cancer. With genomics now solving all kinds of medical issues, we found a PCA3 , also (referred to as DD3) gene prostate cancer antigen 3 that gives Doctors clues on how better to advises us on living longer with prostate cancer, Gene PCA3 is a gene that expresses a non-coding RNA. PCA3 is only expressed in human prostate tissue, and the gene is highly overexpressed in prostate cancer. Because of its restricted expression profile, the PCA3 RNA is useful as a tumor marker.

If you make sure the males in your family over fifty years old have, this list of vitamins & nutrients in their diets you can stop prostate cancer from growing and extend their life. ---- Vitamin D,-- antioxidant,-- antiviral,-- antibacterial,-- antifungal,-- anticarcinogenic,-- antimutagenic -- anti-inflammatory properties.-- Protein, -- dietary fiber,-- niacin, --Vitamin C,-- Vitamin E,-- Vitamin K, --sodium,-- potassium, --calcium, --copper,-- iron, magnesium and zinc.----

The Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study demonstrated a 32% reduction in prostate cancer incidence in response to daily α-tocopherol supplementation. We examined baseline serum concentrations of α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol to compare their respective associations with prostate cancer risk. From the ATBC Study cohort of 29 133 Finnish men, 50–69 years old, we randomly selected 100 incident prostate cancer case patients and matched 200 control subjects. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for the serum tocopherols (measured by high-performance liquid chromatography) using logistic regression models. All P values were two-sided. Odds ratios for the highest versus the lowest tertiles were 0.49 (95% CI = 0.24 to 1.01, Ptrend = .05) for α-tocopherol and 0.57 (95% CI = 0.31 to 1.06, Ptrend = .08) for γ-tocopherol. Further analyses indicated that the association of high serum tocopherols with low prostate cancer risk was stronger in the α-tocopherol–supplemented group than in those not receiving α-tocopherol. Participants with higher circulating concentrations of the major vitamin E fractions, α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol, had similarly lower prostate cancer risk.

Vitamin E occurs naturally as four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. γ-Tocopherol, the most prevalent form of Brought To You By Norton Ditto vitamin E in the typical U.S. diet(1–3), has received increasing attention recently (2). α-Tocopherol is the predominant form of vitamin E in plasma, regardless of dietary intake, due to preferential binding by the hepatic α-tocopherol transfer protein (1–3).

α-Tocopherol supplementation reduced prostate cancer incidence by 32% (95% confidence interval [CI] = −47% to −12%) in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study (4). Observational data regarding serum α-tocopherol and prostate cancer risk have been mixed, however (5–15), and few studies measured γ-tocopherol (7–11). We therefore conducted a nested case–control study within the ATBC Study cohort to compare the prostate cancer risk associations of serum α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol.

· Vitamin D helps the body use calcium and phosphorus to make strong bones and teeth. It is obtained primarily through exposure of the skin to sunlight, but it can also be obtained from some foods and dietary supplements.

· Many studies in humans, but not all, suggest that higher intakes of vitamin D or higher levels of vitamin D in the blood are associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

· Whether vitamin D is associated with reduced risks of other cancers, including breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers, remains unclear.

· The National Cancer Institute (NCI) does not recommend for or against the use of vitamin D supplements to reduce the risk of colorectal or any other type of cancer

Vitamin D is the name given to a group of fat-soluble prohormones (substances that usually have little hormonal activity by themselves but that the body can turn into hormones). Vitamin D helps the body use calcium and phosphorus to make strong bones and teeth. Skin exposed to sunshine can make vitamin D, and vitamin D can also be obtained from certain foods. Vitamin Ddeficiency can cause a weakening of the bones that is called rickets in children and osteomalaciain adults.

Two major forms of vitamin D that are important to humans are vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol, and vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol. Vitamin D2 is made naturally by plants, and vitamin D3 is made naturally by the body when skin is exposed to ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. Both forms are converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the liver. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D then travels through the blood to the kidneys, where it is further modified to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, or calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D in the body. The most accurate method of evaluating a person’s vitamin D status is to measure the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the blood.

Most people get at least some of the vitamin D they need through sunlight exposure. Dietary sources include a few foods that naturally contain vitamin D, such as fatty fish, fish liver oil, and eggs. However, most dietary vitamin D comes from foods fortified with vitamin D, such as milk, juices, and breakfast cereals. Vitamin D can also be obtained through dietary supplements.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies has developed the following recommended daily intakes of vitamin D, assuming minimal sun exposure (1,2):

· For those between 1 and 70 years of age, including women who are pregnant or lactating, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is 15 micrograms (μg) per day. Because 1 μg is equal to 40 International Units (IU), this RDA can also be expressed as 600 IU per day.

· For those 71 years or older, the RDA is 20 μg per day (800 IU per day). For infants, the IOM could not determine an RDA due to a lack of data. However, the IOM set an Adequate Intake level of 10 μg per day (400 IU per day), which should provide sufficient vitamin D.

Although the average dietary intakes of vitamin D in the United States are below guideline levels, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey revealed that more than 80 percent of Americans had adequate vitamin D levels in their blood.

Even though most people are unlikely to have high vitamin D intakes, it is important to remember that excessive intake of any nutrient, including vitamin D, can cause toxic effects. Too much vitamin D can be harmful because it increases calcium levels, which can lead to calcinosis (the deposit of calcium salts in soft tissues, such as the kidneys, heart, or lungs) and hypercalcemia(high blood levels of calcium). The safe upper intake level of vitamin D for adults and children older than 8 years of age is 100 μg per day (4000 IU per day). Toxicity from too much vitamin D is more likely to occur from high intakes of dietary supplements than from high intakes of foods that contain vitamin D. Excessive sun exposure does not cause vitamin D toxicity. However, the IOM states that people should not try to increase vitamin D production by increasing their exposure to sunlight because this will also increase their risk of skin cancer.

Early epidemiologic research showed that incidence and death rates for certain cancers were lower among individuals living in southern latitudes, where levels of sunlight exposure are relatively high, than among those living at northern latitudes. Because exposure to ultraviolet light from sunlight leads to the production of vitamin D, researchers hypothesized that variation in vitamin D levels might account for this association. However, additional research based on stronger study designs is required to determine whether higher vitamin D levels are related to lower cancer incidence or death rates.

Experimental evidence has also suggested a possible association between vitamin D and cancer risk. In studies of cancer cells and of tumors in mice, vitamin D has been found to have several activities that might slow or prevent the development of cancer, including promoting cellular differentiation, decreasing cancer cell growth, stimulating cell death (apoptosis), and reducing tumor blood vessel formation (angiogenesis)

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) has been used for 2,000 years as an herbal remedy for a variety of ailments, particularly liver, kidney, and gall bladder problems. Several scientific studies suggest that substances in milk thistle (especially a flavonoid called silymarin) protect the liver from toxins, including certain drugs such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), which can cause liver damage in high doses. Silymarin has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and it may help the liver repair itself by growing new cells

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A Child Born After January 1, 2014 Should Not Die of Breast Cancer

Barron’s Medical Journal Reporting from Janelia Farm, The Virginia research campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Ashburn, Virginia USA

A Child Born After January 1, 2014 Should Not Die of Breast Cancer:

Get Ready 2014 Is The Year Of The Greatest Science Discoveries This World Has Ever Known.

Twenty fourteen is the year that we can say A child born after January 1, 2014 should not die of breast cancer. The reason we can make such a bold prediction is that ... there is several things happening in the science communities that gives the entire science and medical communities the scientific facts to back up such a bold statement. President Obama has given the green light and $100 million for scientist to study the human brain; European Union’s has set aside $1 billion for the Human Brain Project, Genetically modify babies is now going to be a common practice and one of the United States greatest scientist is leaving Harvard University for the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle Clay Reid.

$100 million in 2014, to invent and refine new technologies to understand the human brain, senior administration officials said Monday.

A senior administration scientist compared the new initiative to the Human Genome Project, in that it is directedBrought To You By Houston Ballet ALADDIN (AMERICAN PREMIERE) at a problem that has seemed insoluble up to now: the recording and mapping of brain circuits in action in an effort to “show how millions of brain cells interact.” It is different, however, in that it has, as yet, no clearly defined goals or endpoint. Coming up with those goals will be up to the scientists involved and may take more than year.

The effort will require the development of new tools not yet available to neuroscientists and, eventually, perhaps lead to progress in treating diseases like Alzheimer’s and epilepsyand traumatic brain injury. It will involve both government agencies and private institutions.

The initiative, which scientists involved in promoting the idea have been calling the Brain Activity Map project, will officially be known as Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, or Brain for short; it has been designated a grand challenge of the 21st century by the Obama administration. European Union’s $1 billion, decade-long Human Brain Project, there are numerous private and public research efforts in the United States and abroad, some focusing on the human brain.

A map of brain connections would be helpful for interpreting measurements of the signals transmitted between neurons. In the human brain, these signals travel in a complex network of 100 billion or so neurons, each of which is connected to 10,000 others.

The function of neural circuits is an emergent property arising from the coordinated activity of large numbers of neurons. To capture this, we propose launching a large-scale, international public effort, the Brain Activity Map Project, aimed at reconstructing the full record of neural activity across complete neural circuits. Conrad said that\ in 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick proposed the double helix structure for DNA. The double helix consists of a long chain of repeated units called nucleotides, of which there are four types: A, C, G, and T. Hereditary information is written in DNA using this alphabet of four letters. In the human genome, the sequence of nucleotides is about one billion letters long. The reading of this sequence was finally completed by the Human Genome Project in 2003.

Roughly 1,000 to 4,000 children born in the United States each year will develop a mitochondrial disease, most by age 10, with symptoms that can range from mild to devastating. These diseases typically prevent mitochondria from converting food into energy and are the result of genetic abnormalities, although some cases can be caused by exposures to toxins. Disorders caused by mutations in the mitochondrial DNA are passed down from the mother.

Developers of these modification techniques say they are a way for women with mitochondrial disease to give birth to healthy children to whom they are related genetically. Some are also promoting their use for age-related infertility. These are worthy goals. But these procedures are deeply problematic in terms of their medical risks and societal implications. Will the child be born healthy, or will the cellular disruptions created by this eggs-as-Lego-pieces approach lead to problems later on? What about subsequent generations? And how far will we go in our efforts to engineer humans?

These sorts of concerns were first voiced decades ago, well before the human genome had even been “mapped.” Those were the days when our accelerating knowledge about genetics led to over-optimistic hopes for quick fixes to an array of afflictions and grandiose visions of designing genetically enhanced babies to be more intelligent, athletic, musically talented and the like. More recently, many scholars, scientists and policy makers have urged a different approach: We should carefully and thoughtfully apply the tools of human genetic engineering to treat medical conditions in people, but we should not use them to manipulate the genetic traits of future children. Genetic modifications of sperm, eggs and early embryos should be strictly off limits. Otherwise, we risk venturing into human experimentation and high-tech eugenics.

Unfortunately, there are now worrisome signs that opposition to inheritable genetic modifications, written into law by dozens of countries, according to our count, may be weakening. British regulators are also considering mitochondrial manipulations, and proponents there, like their counterparts in the United States, want to move quickly to clinical trials. There are many ways to map the brain and many kinds of brains to map. Although the ultimate goal of most neuroscience is understanding how human brains work, many kinds of research can’t be done on human beings, and the brains of mice and even flies share common processes with human brains.

The work of Dr. Reid, and scientists at Allen and elsewhere who share his approach, is part of a surge of activity in brain research as scientists try to build the tools and knowledge to explain — as well as can ever be explained — how brains and minds work. All these efforts start with maps and enrich them. If Dr. Reid is successful, he and his colleagues will add what you might call the code of a brain process, the language the neurons use to store, transmit and process information for this function.

Not that this would be any kind of final answer. In neuroscience, perhaps more than in most other disciplines, every discovery lead to new questions.

Barron’s Medical Journal has put it altogether; If you were born the Kennedy administration you are living in a era where you can add a extra twenty years to your life. No other group can make that claim.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Apple Is Buying A $Billion Dollars Worth Of Their Stock Back Want To Know Why

Barron’s Medical Journal Reporting from UCLA Medical Center Los Angeles USA

Apple Is Buying A $Billion Dollars Worth Of Their Stock Back Want To Know Why

Several major technology companies have entered in to the Health Care Arena. Leading the way is Apple Inc, Google and several Biotech companies. Genomics Is hot says Rose Conrad CEO of Sam Houston Biotech.

In a landmark move that will help to realize the promise of personalized medicine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)announced the first regulatory clearance of a high-throughput DNA sequencing device. This action reflects our nation’s commitment to a future in which health-care professionals will be able to use each person’s unique genetic information to provide more precise ways of detecting, treating, and preventing disease.

Specifically, the FDA authorized broad clinical use of Illumina MiSeq Dx, a sophisticated DNA sequencing system that traces its roots back to NIH-funded science and that, until now, has only been used for research. I commend the FDA not only for the immediate impact of its decision, but for the pathway it has created for the clearance of future devices that may Brought To You By Houston Ballet ALADDIN (AMERICAN PREMIERE)incorporate further improvements in sequencing technology and cost effectiveness.

Sam Houston Breast Cancer Researchers and Scientist are ahead of the curve with several new technologies based on Nanoparticles and Semi Conductors Namely Genomics and treatments.

The result is that the ability to determine Targeted breast cancer DNA sequences is starting to outrun the ability of researchers to store, transmit and especially to analyze the data.

The cost of sequencing a human genome — all three billion bases of DNA in a set of human chromosomes — plunged to $10,000.00 which means genomics breast cancer DNA sequencing is around $3000.00.

The lower cost, along with increasing speed, has led to a huge increase in how much breast Cancer sequencing data is being produced.

The availability of high-throughput DNA sequencers will enable physicians to take a comprehensive look at a patient’s genetic blueprint, or genome, to search for a wide range of variations or changes that increase risk of disease, drive the disease process, and/or affect response to medications and other treatments. Such information has the potential to benefit patients in many ways. For example, an oncologist might use results of a sequencing scan to choose the chemotherapy drug that is most likely to work.

As exciting as it may be, today’s action really is just the beginning. We still need to establish the clinical validity of new genomic findings before they are used to make medical decisions. We also need to work hard to ensure that physicians and other health-care professionals have the tools they need to use genomic information well. So, while we may have taken one important stride today down the path towards personalized medicine, we must take many more if we are to achieve its full potential for improving human health.

Gilead Sciences is an American biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes therapeutic. Alexion Pharmaceuticals is the original developer and distributor of Soliris, a drug used in treating the rare disorders Hemolytic-uremic syndrome and Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.

A group of senior Apple executives met with directors at the United States Food and Drug Administration in December to discuss mobile medical applications, according to the F.D.A.’s public calendars that list participants of meetings. Among the participants from Apple were Jeff Williams, senior vice president of operations; Bud Tribble, vice president of software technology at Apple; Michael O’Reilly, who joined Apple last year; and an employee from Apple’s government affairs department.

On the F.D.A. side of the table were Jeff Shuren, the director of the agency’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, and Bakul Patel, who drafted the F.D.A.’s mobile medical app guidance and is astaunch advocate for patient safety when it comes to apps and medical gadgets.

Mark A. McAndrew, a partner with the law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister, which works with health and science clients, first noticed the F.D.A. meeting while browsing the public calendars.

He said in a phone interview that given the prominence of the people in the meeting from both the government and Apple side, these were not your run-of-the-mill conversations.

“They are either trying to get the lay of the land for regulatory pathways with medical devices and apps and this was an initial meeting,” Mr. McAndrew said, “or Apple has been trying to push something through the F.D.A. for a while and they’ve had hangups.” Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman, declined to comment. Affordable Care Act will produce millions of newly insured Americans, many of whom will be making decisions about health care for the first time. A host of software startups plans to court the newly insured with slick online tools geared toward simple management of personal health.

"We've spent the last six years of our lives preparing for this," says Cyrus Massoumi, who co-founded ZocDoc Inc., a Yelp-like search engine for physicians, in 2007. "We're going to have a spike." Beyond counting on the program to supply new demand, many of these companies have borrowed designs and functions from social-networking and consumer apps. For example, online services from Audax Health Inc. encourage consumers to win cash rewards from insurance providers as they improve their health with diet and exercise and collect Foursquare-style badges to prove it.

Dozens of Internet start-ups are competing to build marquee brand names in a booming market for wellness apps. "You'll probably see dozens of very successful consumer-branded companies" in online health, says John Sculley, the onetime Apple Inc.AAPL -1.04% CEO who is an investor in Audax. ZocDoc's Mr. Massoumi and other health-care entrepreneurs are betting that, given the power to pick their own plans, consumers will gravitate to the online services that are the easiest and most fun to use. To help build the cool stuff, the startups have poached hundreds of engineers from other Silicon Valley companies and loaded up on investors to keep driving growth. ZocDoc has raised almost $100 million from Khosla Ventures and other venture firms; Audax took in $55 million over the past three years, mainly from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and other insurers.

Venture capitalists have invested $948 million in 144 health-tech companies in the first nine months of this year, 16% more than was invested in all of 2012, according to the National Venture Capital Association. The firms include startups with a new take on medical records, such as Practice Fusion Inc.; online-therapist services like Breakthrough Behavioral Inc.; activity trackers like Fitbit Inc.; and Glow, a fertility app created by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

What is Better Than A Mammogram

What is Better Than A Mammogram

What is better than a Mammogram and can Help The Obama Administration Health Reform Act (Obama Care) Robert Graham Ph.D. and Barron’s Medical Journal Reporting from GeorgeTown University February 12, 2014

Washington DC ( AP ) What is Genomics? Genomics is a new and fast expanding area of biology encompassing high throughput or large scale experimentation at the whole genome level, and the organization, analysis and interpretation of the huge amount of data emerging from genome projects. Major new technologies have evolved recently that enable experimentation at the whole genome level, and more novel technologies are currently being developed. This volume describes in detail the new technology necessary to study the entire genome in a holistic manner and all the high throughput and large-scale experimental methodologies currently being used in genomic science. In addition the authors describe the progress of the newest technologies that are currently being developed. Written by experts in the field, this concise yet informative volume covers all aspects of technology pertaining to genomic studies. It is an essential book for anyone involved in genomic science.

During the five year screening period, 666 invasive breast cancers were diagnosed in the mammography arm (n=44 925 participants) and 524 in the controls (n=44 910), and of these, 180 women in the mammography arm and 171 women in the control arm died of breast cancer during the 25 year follow-up period. The overall hazard ratio for death from breast cancer diagnosed during the Brought To You By The Houston Ballet Ball:screening period associated with mammography was 1.05 (95% confidence interval 0.85 to 1.30). The findings for women aged 40-49 and 50-59 were almost identical. During the entire study period, 3250 women in the mammography arm and 3133 in the control arm had a diagnosis of breast cancer, and 500 and 505, respectively, died of breast cancer. Thus the cumulative mortality from breast cancer was similar between women in the mammography arm and in the control arm (hazard ratio 0.99, 95% confidence interval 0.88 to 1.12). After 15 years of follow-up a residual excess of 106 cancers was observed in the mammography arm, attributable to over-diagnosis.

Conclusion Annual mammography in women aged 40-59 does not reduce mortality from breast cancer beyond that of physical examination or usual care when adjuvant therapy for breast cancer is freely available. Overall, 22% (106/484) of screen detected invasive breast cancers were over-diagnosed, representing one over-diagnosed breast cancer for every 424 women who received mammography screening in the trial.

Breast Cancer patients can aligning environmental science with regulation, Genomics in Regulatory Ecotoxicology: Applications and Challenges presents the first in-depth set of recommendations published in the open literature focused specifically on how genomics data could be used in regulatory ecotoxicology. The book develops a conceptual framework of how genomics data can most effectively impact current approaches for ecological risk assessments. It also identifies biomarkers of exposure and effects for both lab and field monitoring studies and provides a basis for the extrapolation of chemical effects across species. It explores exactly how data generated from new genomics technologies might impact or benefits risk assessment. Features: Identifies biomarkers of exposure and effects for use in both lab and field studies, Provides a basis for the extrapolation of chemical effects across species, Describes current and planned applications of genomic technologies to screening assays for use in ecotoxicology decision-making, including risk assessment, Focuses on the development and application of genomics to tiered testing, including how genomics may be used to support streamlining of current chemical testing programs, Highlights the application of genomic technologies to complex mixtures of contaminants in the environment, such as sites requiring remediation.

Breast Cancer Genomics in Regulatory Ecotoxicology: Applications and Challenges is one of many SETAC publications that offer timely, innovative, and critically reviewed perspectives on current topics relating to broad environmental toxicology and chemistry issues. SETAC assumes an active leadership in the development of educational programs and publishes the peer-reviewed, international journals Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management.

Dr. Kalager, an epidemiologist and screening researcher at the University of Oslo and the Harvard School of Public Health, said there was a reason the results were unlike those of earlier studies. With better treatments, like tamoxifen, it was less important to find cancers early. Also, she said, women in the Canadian study were aware of breast cancer and its dangers, unlike women in earlier studies who were more likely to ignore lumps.

“It might be possible that mammography screening would work if you don’t have any awareness of the disease,” she said.

Sam Houston Biotech has new technology to systematically quantify proteins within a small sample by coupling antibody-mediated protein binding with qPCR quantification. The assay probes are target-specific antibodies that are conjugated to two different oligonucleotides through a biotin-streptavidin linkage. When the antibodies bind their target, the oligos come in proximity of each other. Addition of a connector oligonucleotide and DNA ligase creates a DNA amplicon, which is amplified in a qPCR reaction. The qPCR results correlate with the amount of protein in a sample.

Often these are analyzed using immunohistochemistry, but that is much more labor intensive and much less quantitative. Thus, studies now can be conducted with greater ease and throughput with actual tumors. This will allow a better understanding of the protein profiles of cancers, and thus potentially identify new therapeutic biomarkers.

Sam Houston Biotech minuscule molecule that will be used to detect breast cancer is a quantum dot. Quantum dots are tiny crystals that glow when they are stimulated by ultraviolet light. The wavelength, or color, of the light depends on the size of the crystal. Latex beads filled with these crystals can be designed to bind to specific DNA sequences.

In the United States, about 37 million mammograms are performed annually at a cost of about $100 per mammogram. Nearly three-quarters of women age 40 and over say they had a mammogram in the past year. Ninety percent of women ages fifty to sixty nine years of age in several European countries have had at least one mammogram.