The commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotics moxifloxacin and levofloxacin are associated with an increased risk of severe liver injury in older people, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Moxifloxacin and levofloxacin are commonly prescribed "fluoroquinolone" antibiotics often used for bacterial infections such as respiratory infections, sinus infections and others. However, both the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada have issued warnings about the risk of liver injury from moxifloxacin, although there are few published studies on the safety of fluoroquinolones, especially related to liver damage.
Researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), Toronto; the University of Toronto and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., examined the risk of acute liver injury in patients taking moxifloxacin compared with those taking other antibiotics commonly used to treat respiratory tract infections. They looked at 9 years of data from Ontario to identify people aged 66 years or older with no history of liver disease who were admitted to hospital for liver injury within 30 days after receiving a prescription for these antibiotics. Excluding patients admitted for previous liver disease or recent hospitalization, 144 patients were admitted for acute liver injury, with the median time from the dispensing of the antibiotic to admission to hospital being 9 days. Eighty-eight (61.1%) of patients died during their index admission to hospital for liver injury.
Health & Wellness
Burkitt lymphoma is a malignant, fast-growing tumor that originates from a subtype of white blood cells called B lymphocytes of the immune system and often affects internal organs and the central nervous system. Now Dr. Sandrine Sander and Professor Klaus Rajewsky of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have identified a key element that transforms the immune cells into malignant lymphoma cells. They developed a mouse model that closely resembles Burkitt lymphoma in humans and that may help to test new treatment strategies.
Burkitt lymphoma typically develops in childhood and occurs most frequently in equatorial Africa and South America. This tumor originates from germinal centers of the lymphoid organs (Peyer's patches in the small intestine, lymph nodes and spleen). The germinal center reaction is initiated by mature B cells upon detection of a foreign substance (antigen). These B cells modify their DNA in the course of the reaction, resulting finally in a highly specific antibody response against the antigen.
The B cell receptor (BCR), an antibody presented on the surface of mature B cells, plays a crucial role in the germinal center reaction. In order to optimally recognize the respective antigen and initiate an appropriate immune response, the DNA segments encoding the antibody need to be modified and rearranged. While the processes are complex, DNA breaks occur and error-prone repair mechanisms may lead to genetic mutations associated with cancer development.
Burkitt lymphoma typically develops in childhood and occurs most frequently in equatorial Africa and South America. This tumor originates from germinal centers of the lymphoid organs (Peyer's patches in the small intestine, lymph nodes and spleen). The germinal center reaction is initiated by mature B cells upon detection of a foreign substance (antigen). These B cells modify their DNA in the course of the reaction, resulting finally in a highly specific antibody response against the antigen.
The B cell receptor (BCR), an antibody presented on the surface of mature B cells, plays a crucial role in the germinal center reaction. In order to optimally recognize the respective antigen and initiate an appropriate immune response, the DNA segments encoding the antibody need to be modified and rearranged. While the processes are complex, DNA breaks occur and error-prone repair mechanisms may lead to genetic mutations associated with cancer development.
Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have made a discovery involving mice and humans that could mean that people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rare and usually fatal cancer, are a step closer to new treatment options.
Their study results were published online August 13 in Cancer Cell.
Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D."We have discovered that a gene called HLX is expressed at abnormally high levels in leukemia stem cells in a mouse model of AML," said Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology and of medicine at Einstein and senior author of the paper. (Gene expression is the process by which a gene synthesizes the molecule that it codes for; an "over-expressed" gene makes its product in abnormally high amounts.)
According to the National Cancer Institute, AML will be diagnosed in one of every 254 people during their lifetime. Most die within a few years of diagnosis. For the last several decades there has been little improvement in the survival rate for AML patients.
Their study results were published online August 13 in Cancer Cell.
Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D."We have discovered that a gene called HLX is expressed at abnormally high levels in leukemia stem cells in a mouse model of AML," said Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology and of medicine at Einstein and senior author of the paper. (Gene expression is the process by which a gene synthesizes the molecule that it codes for; an "over-expressed" gene makes its product in abnormally high amounts.)
According to the National Cancer Institute, AML will be diagnosed in one of every 254 people during their lifetime. Most die within a few years of diagnosis. For the last several decades there has been little improvement in the survival rate for AML patients.
A research team at the University of California, Davis, has found that important and resourceful bacteria in the baby microbiome can ferret out nourishment from a previously unknown source, possibly helping at-risk infants break down components of breast milk.
Breast milk is amazingly intricate, providing all of the nutrients necessary to sustain and strengthen infants in the first months of life. Moreover, this natural source of nutrition provides protection from infections, allergies and many other illnesses.
Breast milk also promotes the growth of protective bacteria in an infant's intestine. Because breast milk contains glycans (complex sugars) that infants cannot breakdown, it promotes the growth a specific type of bacteria, called bifidobacteria, that can process these glycans. While it is known that bifidobacteria avail themselves of the free glycans in breast milk, it was not known whether these bacteria could also obtain glycans that were linked to proteins. Such proteins are called glycoproteins, and they are abundant in breast milk.
The research team led by David A. Mills at the UC-Davis investigated the ability of bifidobacteria to remove glycans from milk glycoproteins. Their work was recently published in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.
Breast milk is amazingly intricate, providing all of the nutrients necessary to sustain and strengthen infants in the first months of life. Moreover, this natural source of nutrition provides protection from infections, allergies and many other illnesses.
Breast milk also promotes the growth of protective bacteria in an infant's intestine. Because breast milk contains glycans (complex sugars) that infants cannot breakdown, it promotes the growth a specific type of bacteria, called bifidobacteria, that can process these glycans. While it is known that bifidobacteria avail themselves of the free glycans in breast milk, it was not known whether these bacteria could also obtain glycans that were linked to proteins. Such proteins are called glycoproteins, and they are abundant in breast milk.
The research team led by David A. Mills at the UC-Davis investigated the ability of bifidobacteria to remove glycans from milk glycoproteins. Their work was recently published in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.
A team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, led by Dr. Mark W. Jackson, have developed a novel method to identify genes that, when overexpressed, make normal cells behave like cancer cells. Using this method, the Jackson laboratory has identified a new oncogene, which is a gene that contributes to the development of cancer, named FAM83B.
"We made our discovery in a model of breast cancer," said Mark W. Jackson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Using an unbiased screening approach, we let the biology of cancer formation tell us what genes are important and FAM83B was one of the genes that came out of our screen. When FAM83B was overproduced in normal breast cells, it transformed the normal cells, causing them to behave like breast cancer," stated Jackson.
There are relatively few oncogenes that are critical to breast cancer growth, and only one other breast cancer oncogene has been identified in the last 6 years. Breast cancers are classified clinically into subgroups based on the presence of specific proteins, including estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2.
"We made our discovery in a model of breast cancer," said Mark W. Jackson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Using an unbiased screening approach, we let the biology of cancer formation tell us what genes are important and FAM83B was one of the genes that came out of our screen. When FAM83B was overproduced in normal breast cells, it transformed the normal cells, causing them to behave like breast cancer," stated Jackson.
There are relatively few oncogenes that are critical to breast cancer growth, and only one other breast cancer oncogene has been identified in the last 6 years. Breast cancers are classified clinically into subgroups based on the presence of specific proteins, including estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2.
When it comes to college-age individuals taking care of their bodies, appearance is more important than health, research conducted at the University of Missouri suggests. María Len-Ríos, an associate professor of strategic communication, Suzanne Burgoyne, a professor of theater, and a team of undergraduate researchers studied how college-age women view their bodies and how they feel about media messages aimed at women. Based on focus group research findings, the MU team developed an interactive play about body image to encourage frank discussions about conflicting societal messages regarding weight, values and healthful choices.
"During our focus group conversations, we learned that young people don't think about nutrition when it comes to eating," Len-Ríos said. "They think more about calorie-counting, which isn't necessarily related to a balanced diet."
The focus groups included college-age women, college-age men and mothers of college-age women, who discussed how body image is associated with engaging in restrictive diets, irregular sleep patterns and over-exercising.
"We receive so many conflicting media messages from news reports and advertising about how we should eat, how we should live and how we should look," Len-Ríos said. "Some participants said they realize images of models are digitally enhanced, but it doesn't necessarily keep them from wanting to achieve these unattainable figures -- this is because they see how society rewards women for 'looking good.'"
"During our focus group conversations, we learned that young people don't think about nutrition when it comes to eating," Len-Ríos said. "They think more about calorie-counting, which isn't necessarily related to a balanced diet."
The focus groups included college-age women, college-age men and mothers of college-age women, who discussed how body image is associated with engaging in restrictive diets, irregular sleep patterns and over-exercising.
"We receive so many conflicting media messages from news reports and advertising about how we should eat, how we should live and how we should look," Len-Ríos said. "Some participants said they realize images of models are digitally enhanced, but it doesn't necessarily keep them from wanting to achieve these unattainable figures -- this is because they see how society rewards women for 'looking good.'"
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Children who persistently snore during their early childhood may be more likely to have behavioral problems such as aggression and hyperactivity, according to a new study.
Researchers studied 249 mother-child pairs and found the children who snored at both age 2 and age 3 were nearly 3.5 times more likely to have signs of behavioral issues when compared with those who did not snore at these ages, or who only snored during one of those years. Among the kids who snored at both ages, 35 percent showed signs of behavioral problems, while 10 percent in nonsnorers, and 12 percent in kids who only snored for one year, showed such signs.
The findings show the importance of getting good sleep, the researchers said.
"We know that if you take away naps for preschoolers, and then give them challenging tasks, they're grumpier," said lead study author Dean Beebe, director of the neuropsychology program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
The researchers tracked the children starting during their mothers' pregnancies until they were 3 years old, conducting phone interviews with mothers every few months to get a sense of their children's sleeping patterns and other activities. The researchers also met with the children every year to assess levels of behavioral problems in a face-to-face setting.
The finding is in line with previous work showing an association between snoring and behavioral issues, particularly when the snoring is persistent.
Harvard Law - Stephan Guyenet - The American Diet
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During the Paleolithic period, many thousands of years ago, our ancestors ate primarily vegetables, fruit, nuts, roots and meat - and a wide variety of it. This diet was high in fats and protein, and low in grain- and sugar-derived carbohydrates.
The average person's diet today, on the other hand, is the complete opposite, and the average person's health is a testament of what happens when you adhere to a faulty diet. Humans today suffer more chronic and debilitating diseases than ever before.
And there can be little doubt that our food choices play a major role in this development. Quite simply, you were not designed to eat large amounts of refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, cereal, bread, potatoes and pasteurized milk products.
As Mark Sisson states in the featured article[1]:
"If you want to live a better life and eat the best foods nature provided for health and fitness, then it's time to ditch the old paradigms and climb on to the primal approach to eating better."
A new study in Chemical Research in Toxicology examined diacetyl (DA), an ingredient used to produce the buttery flavor and smell in microwave popcorn, margarine, candy, baked goods and even pet food. It is also created naturally in fermented drinks like beer, and gives some chardonnay wines its buttery taste, according to the study.
Scientists at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis conducted an analysis of DA, a chemical which previously has been linked to respiratory problems in employees at microwave popcorn and food-flavoring factories. They found that DA has a structure that's similar to a substance that makes beta-amyloid proteins. Too much amyloid that clumps together to form plaques are a tell-tale marker of Alzheimer's disease in the brain. The researchers wanted to see whether DA would clump those proteins in a similar fashion to form plaques.
