Hallelujah- Lindsey Stirling- #aSaviorIsBorn

Alzheimers' Mice Cognitive Function Restored

INTRODUCTION:

Are you an athlete? Have you ever been on a sports team in High School or College? Do you exercise? Almost everyone will say yes to any of these questions and if so many of us have at some time or another drank an energy drink to give us a boost. Recent research in mice have shown that these very energy drinks contain in them a compound that clears Beta Amyloid Plaques of early stages of Alzheimer's in the brain of mice that contain a build up of plaque.

The results of the preliminary tests show that when this compound was added to their drinking water, it cleared the amyloid beta plaques from the mice that were suffering with Alzheimer like symptoms subsequently restoring their cognitive function to normal. Although it is still very early in research, these results give hope in potentially stopping the progression of the disease and in the prevention of amyloid plaques accumulating in the brain which kill off brain cells (a process known as neuro-degeneration).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The definition of Alzheimer's Disease, (Thanks to Google Search Engine) is a progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. It is the most common cause of premature senility. It is a disease that destroys memory and other mental functions. This is the most common form of dementia in which symptoms develop at a very steady state,  becoming increasingly worse as time progresses, becoming so severe as to interfere with a suffers' daily tasks.

RESEARCH: 

EPPS, the chemical in energy drinks, was discovered by researchers in Korea. Their most recent study included adding EPPS to the water mice were drinking from and found that the mice improved in maze tests and the extinction of plaques in their brains. Much more research is needed to see if the compound (similar to taurine- an Amino Acid found in Red Bull and other energy drinks) is effective for humans not just mice. There also needs more work to be done so that there are more chemicals discovered which are similar to EPPS that have the potential of improving dementia in humans. The side effects this compound has on humans is also unknown although none of the mice experienced any bad side effects.

CONCLUSION:

Patients who suffer from Alzheimer's have plaques that have built up over a decade or more causing serious damage and other mental impairments. Teams of researchers everywhere have tried to discover drugs that remove the amyloid plaques. One recent approach has been to design antibodies that bind to these plaques which then break them down.

 

This study has found a new chemical that could help to clear some forms of amyloid, the toxic protein that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. However, so far this has only been shown in mice, which do not fully replicate several of the important changes that we see in the brains and behaviors of people with dementia. Further expanding our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease all the time, and there are already a number of drugs in clinical testing that are targeted against amyloid. We hope that new findings will one day translate into real treatments for people living with dementia.

 

LINKS:
(A)http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/dec/08/taurine-like-chemical-restores-cognitive-function-in-mice-with-alzheimers
(B)https://www.google.com/search?site=&source=hp&q=what+is+alzheimer%27s+disease&oq=what+is+alzheimer%27s+disease&gs_l=hp.3..0l10.578.9404.0.9489.28.21.0.0.0.0.758.4062.2-3j4j1j1j1.10.0....0...1.1.64.hp..18.10.4058.0.-K_nF7itJaI
(C)http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp
(D)https://animationscreencaps.com/cinderella-2015/

*These are not my images! They were found on various Tumblr sites~if any are yours please let me know so I can give you credit! Thanks so much~Enjoy~

Virus' New Prey, Cancer

INTRODUCTION:

Melanoma, a type of skin cancer, is one of the most common forms of skin cancer related to skin cancer related deaths. Over exposure to UV light is the cause of melanoma.  According to the National Cancer Institute approximately 74,000 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma and nearly 10,000 will die from the disease in 2015. (B)

 

Cancer hunting virus preys on cancer creates a new era of treatment for patients world wide. This specific new virus could play a key role in patients diagnosed with cancer and having none of the extreme side effects that chemotherapy causes. Treatments for cancer such as chemotherapy are very difficult on the patients physically emotionally and spiritually.

 

Cancer cells are hard to kill off as they spread quickly throughout the body. Patients often lose hair, have internal bleeding due to chronic nausea, and some even death.The first FDA-approved oncolytic virus therapy, for the treatment of melanoma lesions in the skin and lymph nodes. This treatment targets cancer cells and only cancer cells (leaving the healthy cells alone). The treatment then stimulates the immune system to fight the cancer itself in which T-VEC or  talimogene laherparepvec, (under the brand name IMlygic) uses a modified virus to hunt cancer cells. (A)

 TREATMENT:

The treatment consists of a series of injections in the melanoma lesions. A modified form of the herpes virus is what is being injected into each tumor. The genetic code of the virus was taken from a cold sore of a BioVex employee and then modified to kill only cancer cells. There are two modes of action in which this specifically modified virus can perform. It can attack the cancer cells directly or it can trigger the body's immune system to attack rogue cells once the virus is detected. Once the initial injection is performed, the second is given to the patient 3 weeks later, next additional doses are administered every 2 weeks for at least 6 months. This treatment takes place until there are no remaining lesions to treat or unless another treatment is needed to be performed. (A)

RESEARCH:

Study of 436 participants with metastatic melanoma (in which their tumors were not viable for surgical removal) were used to study the safety and efficacy of Imlygic. Lesions in the skin or lymph nodes were treated with Imlygic or a similar therapy treatment for at least 6 months or until no lesions remained. The results concluded that 16.3% of those who recieved Imlygic had decrease in size of their skin and lymph node lesions lasting for a min of 6 months. Whereas, 2.1% of those who recieved comparative therapy. Unfortunately, Imlygic did not show overall survival or have an effect on melanoma which spread to the brain, bone, liver, lungs, or other internal organs. (B) 

Since Imlygic is a modified version of a live oncolytic herpes virus type of therapy, herpes virus infect is possible. Therefore, this form of treatment should not be given to those with suppressed immune systems or those who are pregnant. Side effects of Imlygic treatment include fatigue, chills, fever, nausea, flu-like symptoms, and pain at the injection site. (B)

 

The Mayo Clinical studied mice who developed large tumors and once injected with the virus were completely absent. Viruses can increase a patients lifespan and even cure diseases such as cancer in the future. Dramatic results are needed from such studies so that treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy can be replaced with less traumatic therapies such as T-VEC. (A)

 ALTERNATIVES:

Current Oncological treatments (i.e. chemotherapy, radiotherapy) not only kill cancer cells, however damage the rest of the body. Viruses, on the other hand, can be modified to attack only cancer cells so that patients suffer less and have side effects comparable to a flu's symptoms. Cancer-hunting viruses have long been researched, experimented with, and thought of by scientists, researchers, as well as physicians to treat cancer. (A)

 

CONCLUSION:

Imlygic is a significant step in the battle against cancer. Melanoma lesions that cannot be removed completely by surgery are injected with Imlygic, where it replicates inside cancer cells and causes the cells to rupture and die. (B) There is still much progress being made for Imlygic treatment as well as a current number of several similar treatments in their 3rd stage of clinical testing.

LINKS:

(A)http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/02/fda-approval-imlygic-cancer-hunting-viral-treatment

(B)http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm469571.htm

(C)https://www.cancercommons.org/news/t-vecpembrolizumab-combination-demonstrates-safety-in-melanoma/
(D)https://animationscreencaps.com/brave-2012/

*These images are not mine! They were found on various tumblr sites- if any are yours please let me know so that I can give you credit for them! Thanks so much~

Wednesday Inspiration: Passion

"Passion will drive you crazy, but is there any other way to live?"