Attribution: Yale Rosen

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology replicated conditions of a study presented at the Proceedings of the Second ACM SIGHIT International Health Informatics Symposium in order to determine whether communicating with young patients in this way was beneficial.

Investigators recruited 30 asthmatic ten to 17-year-olds who were attending a private pediatric pulmonology clinic and randomly assigned them into three different groups so that they could compare the effects of different experimental conditions.

One set of participants was sent a text message per day, which prompted them to consider their symptoms or provided them a piece of information concerning the respiratory illness. Another received this communication every other day.

The remaining subjects acted as a control group, and were not sent any messages. Researchers ensured that all children involved were able to understand the texts by checking that they had attained a certain reading level.

Investigators then analysed clinical outcomes of the youngsters by looking at healthcare records and gaining information from physicians, and cross-referenced outcomes of each group to determine whether there were any significant trends.

Findings revealed that sending one text message per day was associated with improved wellbeing. This might involve lower incidence of symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest or breathlessness.

Lead author of the study Rosa Arriaga said: "It appears that text messages acted as an implicit reminder for patients to take their medicine and by the end of the study, the kids were more in tune with their illness."

Findings were presented at the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2013, and could have implications in terms of treating other illnesses. Many patients could benefit from prompts which motivate them to take their medicine.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), half of people fail to take drugs correctly. This could be having a hugely detrimental impact on their quality of life.

Cancer Research UK found that one-in-five diagnoses of the disease relate to these younger females, despite age being such a significant risk factor.

The findings indicate that the younger generation is increasingly engaging in other risky lifestyle practices, such as unhealthy levels of alcohol intake.

People who are overweight or obese are also more likely to develop the condition, and research indicates that the population's average body-mass index (BMI) has been increasing in recent decades.

Researchers also believe that adapting attitudes to childbirth, including increased use of the contraceptive pill, could be impacting hormone levels and, therefore, contributing to risk.

However, medical advancements and improvements to healthcare mean that a growing number of women are experiencing favourable outcomes following a breast cancer diagnosis.

The charity's director of health information Sara Hiom said: "Thanks to research, awareness and improved care more women than ever before are surviving the disease."

A research team led by Dr  Janet L Stanford, co-director of the Prostate Cancer Research Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, conducted an investigation in order to determine whether this trend was scientifically measurable. The results were published in the online journal The Prostate.

Scientists recruited more than 1,000 participants into their experiment, all of whom had been diagnosed with the potentially life-threatening disease, which affects approximately 40,000 and kills around 10,000 men in the UK every year. They asked about their medication, and then followed their health outcomes for eight years so that they could cross-reference the data.

Analysts found that the risk of death from prostate cancer was one per cent in the group of subjects who were taking statins. Those patients who were not taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs had a five-times higher chance of fatality.

However, lead author Milan S Geybels MSc, who is based at Maastricht University, explained that the results must be verified through further investigation in order to justify administration of statins as an anti-prostate cancer treatment. Prescribing them needlessly is dangerous, since side-effects like inflammation and insomnia sometimes arise.

He said: "[Statins] cannot be recommended for the prevention of prostate cancer-related death until a preventive effect on mortality from prostate cancer has been demonstrated in a large, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial."

Cholesterol plays an indirect role in the survival of diseased cells, and so taking statins may help to reduce the size of tumours and prevent development of aggressive, fatal growths. However, the exact biological mechanisms behind the apparent link are currently unknown. Geybels said "any compound that could stop or slow the progression of prostate cancer would be beneficial".

Congenital heart disease is the most common form of birth defect and affects nearly one per cent of all newborns.

In an analysis of all the genes of more than 1,800 individuals, researchers found hundreds of mutations that can cause the condition, with the most frequent mutations in genes being those that modify histones. These are crucial to the development of the foetus.

The results of the study, which is part of the Pediatric Cardiac Genomics Consortium, were published this week in the journal Nature and offer a new insight into the causes of common congenital disease.

Dr Gary H Gibbons, who is director of the NHLBI, commented on the results and described the study as “an important piece of the puzzle that gives us a clearer picture of the causes of congenital heart disease”.

He added: “What this international, multi-centre collaborative research effort was able to accomplish, in a small amount of time, is truly remarkable. The state-of-the-art sequencing techniques that were used are allowing us to push the envelope and envision a day when we may be able to better treat and eventually prevent congenital heart disease in the early stages of heart formation.”

It was discovered that the mutations can occur simultaneously and can both increase and decrease the modification of vital histone proteins.

This suggests that this very sensitive developmental system could also be influenced by a series of environmental factors in its development and points to that fact that there are fundamental mechanisms which play a role in a wide range of congenital diseases.

Dr Mindy S Kurzer, professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota in Saint Paul, and colleagues conducted an investigation involving 391 healthy, premenopausal women who engaged in little physical activity.

The findings of the Women in Steady Exercise Research (WISER) clinical trial were published in the American Association for Cancer Research journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Participants were split into two groups, which were matched for body-mass index (BMI) and age, and one acted as a control, maintaining a sedentary lifestyle. The remaining subjects were enrolled in an exercise regime.

Five times per week for four months, the females in the intervention group engaged in 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise. They each achieved their maximal heart rate on the treadmill, cross-trainer or stair stepper in each instance.

The NHS recommends that adults participate in 90 minutes of mixed moderate and vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise each week, as well as two muscle-strengthening activities.

Researchers cross-referenced oestrogen levels of each participant from three days before and three days after the trial using urine samples. Certain compounds have been implicated in the reduced risk of breast cancer.

Analysis of the investigatory findings revealed that women in the intervention group were more likely to have an increased 2-OHE1/16alpha-OHE1 ratio in their system. This has been connected to a lower chance of developing the potentially fatal disease.

Dr Kurzer said: "Exercise, known to favour fitness and improve heart health, is also likely to help prevent breast cancer by altering oestrogen metabolism. It is very important, however, to decipher the biological mechanisms behind this phenomenon."

The condition is diagnosed in around 48,000 UK women every year, and Cancer Research UK data shows that the average female has a one-in-eight chance of developing the disease. Encouraging women to increase exercise levels could play an important role in reducing incidence.

Data from Cancer Research UK reveals that around 10,000 people in the country are diagnosed with this condition every year, while approximately 5,000 lose their lives as a result of the disease.

An estimated three-in-ten cases are of the more serious and aggressive variety – muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This results when cancerous cells spread from the lining of the bladder and start to affect the surrounding muscles.

It is a far more serious condition, with the five-year mortality rate of around 50 per cent. The NHS claims that the rate is 80 to 90 per cent for people with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. The treatment involves surgical removal of the organ in a procedure called a cystectomy.

According to UT Southwestern, approximately one-in-three of these patients will experience recurrence. Despite this high prevalence of tumour redevelopment, those affected rarely receive chemotherapy as a follow-up treatment.

This course of strong drugs can help to destroy any remaining diseased cells and reduce the risk of the cancer coming back. However, there are serious side-effects and high costs involved, and this may deter healthcare workers from providing the treatment.

UT Southwestern researchers conducted an investigation in order to determine whether there were biological markers which were predictive of recurrence. They compared outcomes of 216 patients who underwent cystectomy to the presence of biomarkers in their bodies.

The experimenters found that the number of molecular alterations present in a bladder tissue sample was correlated to the risk of cancer recurrence. Analysis of samples may therefore enable doctors to identify suitable chemotherapy candidates.

Findings were published in the journal European Urology, and the scientists involved plan to conduct another investigation to determine whether recognition of biomarkers serves as an effective practice in a clinical setting.

A team led by member of the Public Health Sciences Division and head of the Cancer Prevention Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Dr Polly Newcomb analysed data from the Collaborative Breast Cancer Study in an attempt to shed further light on the supposed link.

Investigators started to collect information concerning almost 23,000 women in 1988, and a subset of participants took part in a follow-up study between 1998 and 2001. Questionnaire results concerning alcohol consumption habits and health records were gathered.

By cross-referencing this data, analysts were able to determine whether there was any statistically significant link between drinking and breast cancer survival rates. Previous evidence indicated that the habit was detrimental to outcomes.

These types of investigation help to guide medical advice, ensuring that patients are provided with the self-care recommendations which will best protect their health. Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that just 85.1 per cent of female breast cancer patients in England between 2005 and 2009 survived for five years following diagnosis.

Investigators found that there was no apparent correlation between alcohol consumption and survival in women who developed the disease. This indicates that the substance does not facilitate progression or compromise efficacy of treatments like chemotherapy.

Indeed, the researchers instead found that moderate drinkers could have a longer lifespan, but not due to more favourable breast cancer outcomes – females who consumed three to six alcoholic beverages per week had a lower cardiovascular disease risk.

Their likelihood of developing the condition was 15 per cent lower than that of teetotal patients. The associated mortality rate in this group was reduced by up to half.

The benefit was most pronounced among wine drinkers, further strengthening previous studies which indicate red wine in particular is beneficial to heart health when consumed in moderation. This is thought to be because of flavonoids present in the drink.

Researchers recruited 25 participants who had a combination of 40 metastases – instances of disease malignancy -  and analysed their response to IRE.

They found that the method could be effective in destroying tumours without having a detrimental impact on nearby healthy tissue.

Lead author Dr Constantinos T Sofocleous said: “This makes IRE potentially ideal for treating tumours close to sensitive structures.”

The technique is also less invasive than alternatives, and this could ensure more favourable experiences and outcomes for cancer patients.

Those affected are often not recommended for surgical solutions due to their poor health, and methods like chemotherapy have severe side-effects.

Findings were presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 38th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans.

According to Cancer Research UK,  more than 10,000 people in the country were diagnosed with this disease in 2010 – it was responsible for almost 5,000 deaths in the same period. With a five-year survival rate of around just 50 per cent, improving treatments is vital.

Nabil Simaan, professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University, set out to improve techniques after observing traditional methods and finding them "crude". He worked with colleagues and a team from Columbia University in attempts to improve the process.

The academic believed that micro-robotics would help to tackle the problems caused by current procedures, since healthcare providers at the moment must manually insert a resectoscope into the bladder via the urethra.

So that different parts of the tissue can be observed and analysed, doctors must then, with difficulty, move the tube around – Simaan claims that this involves "pushing and stretching of the patient’s body".

Telerobotics solutions tend to have a finer control which means that the procedure is more accurate and therefore less uncomfortable for the recipient. The arm can also move 180 degrees, meaning that interior examination is far more convenient.

The device could also help to improve surgical procedures, since it allows administrators to easily grip tissue and remove parts affected by cancerous growths with a laser. Currently, doctors can experience extreme difficulty making removals with the resectoscope.

Determining the size of the tumour is also much easier with the robotic arm, since it has pressure sensors which enable the distinction between healthy and diseased tissue. As a result, surgeons are less likely to leave behind cancerous cells.

A less invasive procedure could significantly improve patient wellbeing, and prevent the risk of complications. Adoption of this diagnostic method could therefore help healthcare providers to significantly reduce the cost of treating people affected by bladder cancer.

The scientists have claimed that a novel molecular mechanism in the drug metformin can reduce the production of inflammatory cytokines.

These normally activate the immune system, but if overproduced can lead to pathological inflammation, which can damage tissues in aging and favour tumour growth in certain types of cancer.

Dr Gerardo Ferbeyre, senior author and a University of Montreal biochemistry professor, revealed in the study, which was published in the online edition of Aging Cell: "Cells normally secrete these inflammatory cytokines when they need to mount an immune response to infection, but chronic production of these same cytokines can also cause cells to age. Such chronic inflammation can be induced, for example by smoking."

He went on to note that the findings of the study were a "surprise".

His team, in collaboration with Michael Pollack of the Segal Cancer Centre of the Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, found that metformin prevented the synthesis of cytokines directly at the level of the regulation of their genes.

"The genes that code for cytokines are normal, but a protein that normally triggers their activation called NF-B can't reach them in the cell nucleus in metformin treated cells," Dr Ferbeyre explained.

"We also found that metformin does not exert its effects through a pathway commonly thought to mediate its anti diabetic effects," he added.

The finding could have important ramifications in the future and most specifically in the way that a common and safe drug can help in the treatment of some cancers and slow down the process of aging.

Dr Ferbeyre added: "It remains that determining the specific targets of metformin would give us an even better opportunity of profit from its beneficial effects. That's what we want to figure out next."