http://www.docndoc.com/forum/ List of the latest topics from our public forum. http://www.docndoc.com/forum/5-health-medical-education-12/how-cancer-vaccines-will-work/

Introduction to How Cancer Vaccines Will Work

How long do you expect to live? That's probably not a question you care to think about every day, but...]]>

Introduction to How Cancer Vaccines Will Work

How long do you expect to live? That's probably not a question you care to think about every day, but you can probably expect to live considerably longer than the generations that preceded you. A baby born in the United States today can expect to live to over 77 years of age, according to the CIA's World Fact Book. One hundred years ago, it was unusual for someone to live that long. The life expectancy of all American babies born in 1900 was just 49 years. Today, more than 27 percent of the American population is over 50.

The point of these statistics is to illustrate how the health of the world, not just of the United States, is improving at a remarkable rate. Today, there is a larger percentage of senior adults than the world has ever seen. So, what's allowing us all to live longer than ever before? The most obvious reason is the amazing amount of medical technology developed in the 20th century. Scientists have developed medicine and equipment that enable us to fight off disease more effectively. Penicillin (1928), measles vaccine (1953), polio vaccine (1954) and insulin (1920s) are just a few of the many medical discoveries made in the last century.

Among the most notable achievements in that time was the eradication of polio and smallpox through vaccines. Today, scientists continue their search for vaccines to prevent other diseases. Possibly the most exciting achievement of this century will be the discovery of a universal cancer vaccine. Scientists are on the verge of developing such a vaccine that will save millions of lives annually when it's discovered. In this article, we will take a look at current cancer treatments and types of cancer treatments in development.

Current Cancer Treatments

Cancer is a nearly invincible disease that has plagued humankind for centuries. Only in recent decades have doctors found effective ways to treat it. In that time we have also found better methods for early detection of this devastating disease. Despite great efforts to develop better treatments, more than 6 million people worldwide died from cancer in 1997. And we are still years away from any possible cure for cancer, something that many scientists think is impossible. While early detection is your best form of prevention, there are several techniques that are used to treat cancer. As you can read in our article on How Cancer Works, these techniques include:

* Surgery
* Radiation therapy
* Chemotherapy
* Hormone therapy
* Immunotherapy

Surgery is the oldest and most widely used treatment available for cancer patients. About 60 percent of people diagnosed with cancer will undergo surgery, according to the American Cancer Society. If a growth is found early, doctors may opt to remove it before it has a chance to grow. Surgery is also used when there is a good chance to remove an entire tumor before it spreads. Surgery is rarely used as a stand-alone treatment. Usually, it is combined with radiation therapy and /or chemotherapy.

In radiation therapy, the specific part of the body containing a cancerous growth is exposed to radiation energy to attack reproducing cancer cells. However, the radiation cannot affect the cancer cells without affecting normal cells, which can lead to several unpleasant side effects, including fatigue, dryness and peeling of skin, nausea and vomiting. Radiation therapy is often used to shrink a tumor so that it can be removed through surgery, or to prevent tumor growth following surgery.

Chemotherapy, the treatment of cancer through drugs, is an effective treatment method for fighting cancerous cells that have spread to other parts of the body and that cannot be treated with any other method. There are dozens of cancer drugs that, in some cases, can cure the cancer, limit the spread of cancer and alleviate the symptoms of cancer. Similar to radiation therapy, chemotherapy also can affect normal cells, causing the same kinds of side effects.

Two more recent treatments for cancer are hormone therapy and immunotherapy. Hormone therapy involves anything that deals with manipulating the body's hormones to treat the cancer, including administering hormones and drugs. Doctors may also remove hormone glands to kill cancer cells or prevent further cancerous growth. Immunotherapy also manipulates the body's normal functions. During immunotherapy, patients are given medication to stimulate the body's immune system to fight cancerous cells.

Types of Cancer Vaccines

Can you imagine how long the average life expectancy would be if cancer were ever eradicated the way polio and smallpox have been? It's amazing to think about what doctors might be able to achieve in our lifetime. Scientists have made significant inroads in the last few decades and are now testing several vaccines that could possibly lead to the complete prevention of cancer. To learn more about cancer, please read How Cancer Works.

Probably the most promising form of cancer treatment is in immunotherapy, where scientists are developing several experimental cancer vaccines that could lead to the eradication of cancer this century. There are two major categories that cancer vaccines fit into:

* Specific cancer vaccine
* Universal cancer vaccine

As the name suggests, specific cancer vaccines are designed to treat specific types of cancers. In other words, a vaccine could be developed for lung cancer, another vaccine could be used to treat colon cancer, and yet another vaccine could treat skin cancer, and so on. A more appealing cancer vaccine would be one that could fight cancer cells regardless of cancer type. This type of vaccine is called a universal cancer vaccine. See this news report on a new universal cancer vaccine being developed.

In these two categories, there are more specific types of cancer vaccines. Each type of cancer vaccine works on the same basic idea: The vaccine, which contains tumor cells or antigens, stimulates the patient's immune system, which produces special cells that kill cancer cells and prevent relapses of the cancer. Unlike vaccines for other disease that prevent the occurrence of the disease, there isn't a vaccine in development that can prevent the onset of cancer. Cancer vaccines are used only as a treatment after the cancer has been found in a patient. Here is a list of five kinds of cancer vaccines being developed:

* Antigen vaccines
* Anti-idiotype vaccines
* Dendritic cell vaccines
* DNA vaccines
* Tumor cell vaccines

Antigen vaccines use tumor-specific antigens -- proteins displayed on a tumor cell -- to stimulate the immune system. By injecting these antigens into the cancerous area of the patient, the immune system will produce an increased amount of antibodies or cytotoxic T lymphocytes, also known as killer T cells, to attack cancer cells that carry that specific antigen. Multiple antigens can be used in this type of vaccine to vary the immune system response.

In some instances, some antibodies, called idiotype antibodies, act as antigens, triggering an immune response similar to that described above. In this case, the immune system will produce anti-idiotype antibodies to attack the idiotypes. Scientists have found a way to mass-produce anti-idiotype antibodies to produce a vaccine that can be injected to treat cancer.

Dendritic cells break the antigens on the cancer cell surfaces into smaller pieces. The dendritic cells then act as most-wanted posters for the immune system, displaying those antigen pieces to the killer T cells. To make a dendritic cell vaccine, scientists extract some of the patient's dendritic cells and use immune cell stimulants to reproduce large amounts of dendritic cells in the lab. These dendritic cells are then exposed to antigens from the patient's cancer cells. This combination of dendritic cells and antigens is then injected into the patient, and the dendritic cells work to program the T cells.

With recent DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) research, scientists are finding ways to use the genetic code of proteins produced in cells to aid the immune systems fight against cancer. Bits of DNA from the patient's cells are injected into the patient, which instructs the other cells to continuously produce certain antigens. This DNA vaccine increases production of antigens, which forces the immune system to respond by producing more T cells.

Tumor cell vaccines can be produced using cancer cells from the patient or another patient. These cells are killed and injected into the patient. While the cells are dead, the antigens are still recognized by the the immune system, which responds by attacking the dead cells. The immune system will also attack the live cancer cells carrying the antigen that was displayed on the dead cells.

While scientists have had some success with each of these cancer vaccines, it is still much too early to predict when a true cancer vaccine will be developed. However, science has brought us closer than ever to being able to develop a method that could eradicate some forms of cancer in our lifetime, if not all cancer entirely.]]> http://www.docndoc.com/forum/5-health-medical-education-12/how-cancer-vaccines-will-work/ Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:59:50 +0000 Sajith http://www.docndoc.com/forum/3-health-and-lifestyle-10/nine-ayurveda-diet-tips-to-beat-diabetes/
Diabetes is known as Prameha in Ayurveda. Prameha literally means excessive urination. Ayurveda believes that it is the essence of life going out via...]]>
Diabetes is known as Prameha in Ayurveda. Prameha literally means excessive urination. Ayurveda believes that it is the essence of life going out via urine in diabetic patients. Ayurveda classifies diabetes as a metabolic disorder caused by vitiated Kapha dosha. It also suggests that the primary causes for the disease are lifestyle habits and consumption of high fatty foods and drinks.

Purification and rejuvenation of the body systems are the recommended therapies for diabetes in Ayurveda. Ayurveda primarily advise diabetes patients to switch to a diet with limited protein, carbohydrate and fat intake.

As a measure to purify the body systems from unwanted and harmful chemicals and substances, Ayurveda recommends some food tips:


1) Take fresh juice of bitter gourd or rose apple or holy fruit leaves or bark of neem tree or jamun tree in empty stomach.

2) Ayurveda gives a special emphasis on fresh juice of Indian gooseberry/jamun fruits in diabetes context.

3) Use turmeric powder while cooking food (Modern scientific researchers also suggest that the regular use of turmeric powder just before food reduces the insulin dependency in insulin dependent diabetes.

4) Have fresh juice of Aloe vera. It is effective in preventing the complications of diabetes such as neuropathy.

5) Take water soaked seeds of fenugreek in empty stomach.

6) Avoid excessive intake of sweets, rice and dietary products like rice, potato, sugar, sugarcane products, sweet and slime fruits.

7) Consume lot of fresh vegetables and fruits. Include roasted fried barley, corn, barley porridge, barley soup, and ghee in the diet.

8) Take plenty of green vegetables, black gram, soy, fish etc.

9) Copper water: Put one cup of water into a copper vessel at night and drink it in the morning.]]> http://www.docndoc.com/forum/3-health-and-lifestyle-10/nine-ayurveda-diet-tips-to-beat-diabetes/ Thu, 15 Jul 2010 07:33:12 +0000 Zakeer Ahmed http://www.docndoc.com/forum/medial-researches-39/cashew-seed-extract-effective-for-insulin-resistance/
Cashew seed extracts improved cell responds to insulin in a new study, showing potential benefits of cashew tree products on diabetes. Cashew seed ex...]]>
Cashew seed extracts improved cell responds to insulin in a new study, showing potential benefits of cashew tree products on diabetes. Cashew seed extract is likely to contain active compounds that have anti-diabetic properties, said Pierre S. Haddad, a pharmacology professor at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Medicine, who led the study published the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Search.

Extracts of leaves, bark, seeds and apples from cashew trees were tested to examine their impact on the body’s response to its own insulin. Dr. Haddad commented that of out of all the extracts, only cashew seed extract was effective at stimulating blood sugar absorption by muscle cells.

Most of the people with type 2 diabetes produce enough insulin but the body cannot use the insulin effectively, a condition called insulin resistance. When the body has problem responding to insulin, sugar (glucose) cannot be moved from blood into the cells, and the high blood sugar can provoke heart or kidney disease in people with diabetes.

As traditionally believed, the cashew tree products may counter high blood sugar by improving the cell’s responds to insulin. Dr. Haddad thinks that the study validates the traditional use of cashew tree products in diabetes. The results of the study “points to some of its natural components that can serve to create new oral therapies,” he added.]]> http://www.docndoc.com/forum/medial-researches-39/cashew-seed-extract-effective-for-insulin-resistance/ Thu, 15 Jul 2010 07:30:12 +0000 Zakeer Ahmed http://www.docndoc.com/forum/9-request-your-books-16/free-books-for-doctors/ Free Books For Doctors

http://www.freebooks4doctors.com/]]> Free Books For Doctors

http://www.freebooks4doctors.com/]]> http://www.docndoc.com/forum/9-request-your-books-16/free-books-for-doctors/ Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:11:15 +0000 Sajith http://www.docndoc.com/forum/o-pediatrics-27/pupil-response-linked-to-autism/ Researchers at University of Missouri (MO) have developed a unique pupil response test that is 92.5 percent accurate in separating children with autis...
Scientists at MU have found that children with autism have slower pupil responses to light change.

According to Gang Yao, Associate professor of Biological Engineering in the MU college of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and the College of Engineering, “there are several potential mechanisms currently under study. If these results are successfully validated in a larger population, PLR response might be developed into a biomarker that could have clinical implications in early screening for risks of autism. Studies have shown that early intervention will improve these children’s developmental outcome”.

The study was performed by employing a short light stimulus to induce pupil light reflexes in children under both dark and bright conditions. Consequently, children with autism showed significant differences in several PLR parameters compared to those with regular development.]]> http://www.docndoc.com/forum/o-pediatrics-27/pupil-response-linked-to-autism/ Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:14:23 +0000 Nikitha Manoj http://www.docndoc.com/forum/o-pediatrics-27/gene-therapy-for-congenital-blindness/ Gene therapy has been found useful in restoring significant vision to people with congenital blindness. It is the result of a brilliant study conducte... Albert M Maguire and Jean Bennett, the researchers behind this study have been researching inherited retinal degenerations for nearly 20 years. Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, (LCA) the target of this current study, is a group of inherited blinding diseases that damages light receptors in the retina. It usually begins stealing sight in early childhood and causes total blindness during a patient’s twenties or thirties. Currently there is no treatment for LCA.
These dramatic findings will help in restoring vision to patients who previously had no options for treatment. These findings may expedite development of gene therapy for more common retinal diseases, such as age related macular degeneration. Through this gene therapy children will now be able to walk and play, just like any other normal child. They can also carry out class room activities without visual aids. For children and adults in the research, functional improvements in vision supposedly followed single injections of genes that created proteins to make light receptors function in their retinas.
The success of the therapy depends on how far the retina had degenerated. In the follow up studies, the researchers will continue to monitor these patients to determine whether this treatment stops the progression of this retinal generation. Also, in the future they express the hope to investigate whether other retinal disease will be amenable to this gene therapy approach.]]> http://www.docndoc.com/forum/o-pediatrics-27/gene-therapy-for-congenital-blindness/ Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:12:52 +0000 Nikitha Manoj http://www.docndoc.com/forum/m-ophthalmology-31/world-8217s-first-bionic-eye/ A new artificial retina, an array of electrodes implanted on the back of the eye, has been found to restore partial vision to totally blind people. Th... Many people suffer from eye diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, slowly losing their vision as the nerve cells that detect light are destroyed, due to either age or illness. There is no known cure for this condition. “These results give new hope to the many people with degenerative retinal diseases,” says Jessy Dorn, Ph.D., of Second Sight Medical Products, lead author of the study.
In this case, the researchers worked around the destroyed cells. Each participant was given a pair of glasses with a small video camera mounted on it, and a belt with a tiny computer attached. The computer processed video images from the camera and transmitted the data to the implanted electrodes on the retina. When the users “looked” at a monitor with a white bar sweeping across a black screen, the electrodes that corresponded with the moving bar stimulated cells in the eye, creating spots of light in their fields of vision.

“We found that most of the study participants were better able to determine the direction of the bar when using the prosthesis system than without it, or with a scrambled video input,” Dr.Dorn said. “In other words, this new system gave most blind people the ability to identify an object’s direction of motion — something they could not do without it.”


An international clinical trial is now testing the prosthesis system. To date, 32 blind people have received the implant. Research was supported by the National Eye Institute.]]> http://www.docndoc.com/forum/m-ophthalmology-31/world-8217s-first-bionic-eye/ Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:11:31 +0000 Nikitha Manoj http://www.docndoc.com/forum/l-obstetrics-gynaecology-30/breakthrough-in-male-infertility-he-8211contraceptive/ Breakthrough discovery by the researchers at Oxford University, Ghent University in Belgium and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in the USA fi... The discovery published in the journal Human Reproduction, may provide a new approach to help some couples that have been unsuccessful in IVF treatments, and could potentially lead to the development of a male contraceptive pill. The mutation was seen in a man known to have a defect in his sperm following initially unsuccessful IVF treatment at a clinic at Ghent University Hospital.
The mutation lies in one specific protein present in sperm called PLC zeta (PLC-phospholiphase C, which is equivalent of mammalian sperm factor). Recent research, in which the Oxford team played a significant role, has shown that sperm transfers PLC zeta to the egg on fertilization. The protein initiates a process called ‘egg activation’ which sets off all the biological processes necessary for development of the embryo.
'An egg cell before fertilization is in a state of suspended animation. All the biological processes that occur in the growth and development of an embryo are on pause,’ explains Dr John Parrington of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford. ‘At the moment of fertilization, when a sperm fuses with the egg, the egg bursts into life. It’s like a Prince waking Sleeping Beauty.’
The research team, funded by the Medical Research Council and Belgian funding agencies, looked at sperm samples from nine men at the same clinic where an IVF procedure known as Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), had been unsuccessful. In each of these cases, the eggs had failed to activate.
ICSI involves the direct injection of the sperm into the egg, and is often used in IVF treatment to help ensure fertilization. However, in two to three per cent of cases where ICSI is used, egg activation doesn’t occur and the fertilized egg doesn’t develop. ICSI was used in 47% of all IVF treatments in the UK in 2006,i.e, over 20,800 cases and it was found that around 600 couples a year in this country can’t have children in this way.
The scientists conducted a series of experiments to test how well the protein PLC zeta in these samples was functioning. They found that one man had a mutation in the gene for PLC zeta. The mutation was at a critical point and produced a mutant form of the protein that could no longer trigger egg activation. This is the first genetic mutation discovered to explain this type of male infertility.
Other samples showed other problems in PLC zeta: there was not enough protein, it was located in the wrong part of the sperm cell, or a truncated version was produced.
Dr Kevin Coward of the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Oxford University, who was also involved in the research says, 'We have found that some men are infertile because their sperm fail to activate eggs. Even though the sperm fuses with the egg, nothing happens. The sperm lack a proper functioning version of the PLC zeta protein involved.’
The Oxford and Ghent University researchers have also demonstrated that it should be possible to overcome this problem. For those couples that need it, providing a working version of the PLC zeta protein in IVF/ICSI treatment should offer them the chance to conceive.
The researchers found that mouse egg cells injected with a correct version of the gene for PLC zeta produce the protein for themselves, rather than relying on the sperm cell, and are successfully activated.
'This was a lab experiment and our method could not be used in a fertility clinic in exactly the same way,’ cautions Dr Parrington. ‘But in the future, if we could produce the PLC protein artificially, we could stimulate egg activation in a completely natural way. For those couples going through IVF treatment where ICSI has failed, it could give them the chance of a baby.’
Since PLC zeta has been shown to be crucial for a fertilized egg to develop into an embryo, a drug that inhibits the protein would be a good candidate for a male contraceptive.
'It’s a bit of a cliché in the field that every advance like this gets talked up as a possible new contraceptive pill for men,’ says Dr Parrington. ‘However, now we know that this one protein is absolutely critical at the point where life begins, we can think about finding drugs that stop this protein acting, while leaving all the other PLC proteins in the body unaffected. While this discovery is just an initial step and there is no guarantee of success, a targeted male pill that would not have any of the side effects of the female pill is a tantalizing prospect.]]> http://www.docndoc.com/forum/l-obstetrics-gynaecology-30/breakthrough-in-male-infertility-he-8211contraceptive/ Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:10:30 +0000 Nikitha Manoj http://www.docndoc.com/forum/l-obstetrics-gynaecology-30/liquid-condom-for-women/ The condom is liquid gel before coming into contact with semen. When it catches semen it becomes solid. The new “molecular condom” gel responds to changes in pH-acidity or alkalinity-in the vagina caused by the introduction of semen during sex. It remains in the liquid form while in contact with acidity levels normally found in the vagina but it turns into semisolid when it encounters semen which is alkaline, thus forming a mesh of “cross linked” molecules. The researchers say that the chemical bonding between the two polymers constantly attach and detach at normal , acidic vaginal pHs of about 4.8,allowing the gel to flow. But at a pH of 7.6-the slightly alkaline condition when semen enters the vagina –the PBA and SHA polymers, crosslink and stick tightly together. Thus the gel plays two important roles, as a protectant as well as a contraceptive.
The team of scientists managed to test their latest invention only in the laboratory. They strained HIV particles using a fluorescent dye to demonstrate that the gel turned solid when it came into contact with semen and blocked the virus. According to Kiser, the clinical trials of the gel will most likely continue for another 5years. Until the drug hits the stores, scientists looks forward to impregnate the invention with an anti-HIV drug that would kill the captured HIV virus before a woman washes the gel out of her vagina.]]> http://www.docndoc.com/forum/l-obstetrics-gynaecology-30/liquid-condom-for-women/ Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:09:08 +0000 Nikitha Manoj http://www.docndoc.com/forum/h-forensic-medicine-toxicology-34/mobile-forensic-tool-for-next-generation-mobile-menace/ Over the past two decades, the number of mobile subscribers has increased manifold. The number of mobile phone users keeps multiplying every minute. C...

The AgapeMobiTool provides an all-in-one solution to the problem. The software single handedly enables:-

1) Acquisition of data from GSM/CDMA 3G SIM cards including text messages, phonebook, network information, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number
2) Recovery of deleted data from GSM/CDMA 3G SIM cards
3) Compatibility with infrared, Bluetooth and serial cables
4) Acquisition of data like text messages, phonebook, call logs, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, battery status, phone information
5) Acquisition of data from mobile phone memory including pictures, videos, audios and themes
6) Retrieval of active and deleted e-mails
7) Performance of both physical and logical acquisition
8) Text, Hex and ASCII data viewing options available
9) Generation of report using XML stylesheet]]> http://www.docndoc.com/forum/h-forensic-medicine-toxicology-34/mobile-forensic-tool-for-next-generation-mobile-menace/ Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:54:00 +0000 Nikitha Manoj