Rapamycin (Sirolimus) - elixir of life?

Rapamycin also known as Sirolimus

Rapamycin (C₅₁H₇₉NO₁₃) also known by its alternative name Sirolimus was first discovered as a product of the bacterium Streptomyces hygroscopicus in a soil sample from Easter Island. It is an immunosuppressant drug often used to prevent autoimmune organ rejection in organ transplant.

Rapamycin molecular structure courtesy of Wikipedia - Sirolimus

Rapamycin - elixir of life?

Research done at three centres in Texas, Michigan and Maine and published in Nature journal gives hope that we may be nearer at finding an elixir of life or at least an anti-ageing drug that can prolong life. The researchers fed rapamycin to mice which were bred to mimic the genetic diversity and susceptibility to disease of humans as closely as possible and at an age equivalent to 60 years in humans and found that the drug prolong life by 28 to 38%

However, we should not yet jump up with joy because Rapamycin in an immunity suppressant and will suppress the body immune system leading to infection. The mice in the research which were fed Rapamycin were protected from infection. This would be almost impossible for human in real life situation. Dr Lynne Cox, an expert in ageing at the University of Oxford, the findings are interesting because they highlighted an important molecular pathway that new, more specific drugs might be designed to work on.

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Familial hypercholesterolemia: life saving cascade testing

Familial hypercholesterolemia

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited condition characterized by very high blood bad cholesterol (LDL or low density lipoprotein) levels. It is estimated that 1 in 500 UK residents suffers from FH and will have dangerously high levels of bad cholesterol from an early age.

Most FH patients have a mutated LDLR gene. Victims with only one abnormal gene will likely suffers premature cardiovascular disease at the young age of 30 to 40. Those with 2 abnormal gene will likely suffer severe cardiovascular disease while at tender childhood.

It is estimated that 50% of men and 33% of women with familial hypercholesterolaemia will suffers a heart attack before reaching 60 years of age.

Treatment of familial hypercholesterolaemia

Patients with familial hypercholesterolemia can be treated with statin drug which can prolong the lifespan to almost normal. It is thus important to screen families if any member of the familial is tested positive for familial hypercholesterolaemia and anyone testing positive for FH should be put on statin drug.

Cascade testing (CT)

Lab medicine The sequencing of tests to diagnose a disease or process–eg, familial hypercholesterolaemia; Cascade Testing is appropriate when a 'gold standard' method is technically demanding and/or costly and the diagnosis can usually be established by simpler or more cost-effective strategies.

Dr Dermot Neely, consultant in clinical biochemistry and metabolic medicine at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust, said cascade testing with DNA diagnosis was very effective in practice.

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Olaparib: New promising treatment for breast, ovarian and prostate cancers

Are you or any of your loved ones or contacts blighted with inherited forms of advanced breast, ovarian or prostate cancer which are associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations? If so, perhaps here is good news. A new oral drug Olaparib may be an effective treatment. Olaparib belongs to a new class of drug called PARP (Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase family, a human gene) inhibitors.

In a study led by the Institute of Cancer Research and reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, 19 patients with inherited forms of advanced breast, ovarian and prostate cancer caused by BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, were given Olaparib. Out of these 19, 12 (63%) had their cancer tumors shrunk or stabilized. They also experienced very few side-effects from the treatment.

One of the 12, Julian Lewis who had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer had levels key chemical marker reduced to a low level within a month after been treated with Olaparib and had stayed low for more than 2 years. Further, secondary tumors in the bones have also almost disappeared. As for side effects from Olaparib, Julian only reported experiencing stomach discomfort and mild nausea which is a big improvement over those drastic side effects from chemotherapy.

Professor Stan Kaye, one of the researchers, said that they plan to further study whether Olaparib can be used for other more common forms of breast and ovarian cancers.

In another study at the Royal Marsden National Health Service Foundation Trust in Sutton, UK, 60 patients out of which 22 are carriers of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, were treated with Olaparib. Dosage used was 10mg daily for 2 to 3 weeks increasing to 600mg twice daily. Patients similarly experienced few mild side effects.

Both studies were early-stage trials but were published early because the studies are pointing to a new direction in the development of anti-cancer drugs which targets specific molecular defects rather then the types of cancer.

Sources:
BBC News: New cancer drug 'shows promise'
Olaparib May Benefit BRCA Mutation Carriers

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Scarless belly button surgery Paraskevas

A surgeon Paraskevas Paraskeva of the Imperial College London Healthcare NHS Trust pioneered a practically scarless single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) to remove a gall bladder and the appendix. The surgery involved making a 10mm incision in the belly button and using laparoscopic "key-hole" surgery technique to remove the organs. By making that 10mm incision, Paraskevas could insert a "single access port" through which instruments and a small camera are fed to enable the almost scarless surgery.

Such surgery normally involved making 3 incisions which leaves scars and requires hospitalization. However, the technique perfected by Paraskevas not only left practically no scar, the patient could be discharged on the same day as the surgery.

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Brain booster drug - Ritalin

Ritalin (Methylphenidate) is a central nervous system stimulant used to treat ADHD (Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder). Bioethics expert Professor John Harris, of the University of Manchester is advocating for its use as a booster for brain power saying if it is safe to use by young children on a long term basis, it is safe enough adults. Professor Harris said Ritalin's benefits included enhanced study skills and concentration and claims it is unethical to prevent healthy adults and students to take it (currently Ritalin is a prescription drug classified in UK as a Class B drug and unauthorized possession can lead to a five-year prison sentence.

Molecular structure of methylphenidate courtesy of Wikipedia

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MDX-010 (Ipilimumab) treatment for advanced prostate cancer

Researchers in the Mayo Clinic have found very positive results in trials for 108 men with advanced prostate cancer. For patients with advanced prostate cancer which has spread outside the prostate, surgery is no longer an option. Standard treatment for advanced prostate cancer is to use hormone therapy to try to shrink the cancer tumour.

In the Mayo Clinic study, the researchers tested MDX-010 (Ipilimumab), a type of monoclonal antibody, to see if it will stimulate a strong immune response to attack the prostate cancer cells. The results, according to Dr. Eugene Kwon, were beyond expectations. It was found that in 3 cases, the tumours had shrank so much that it was possible to surgically remove the tumour. 20 other test subjects had also shown improvements. The researchers so so encouraged that they have planned to expand the trial to test higher dosage of MDX-010 on a further 30 prostate cancer patients, and beyond that, to expand to larger trials in many hospitals.

Here are more details about the "startling results": Rodger Nelson was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. The tumor has spread beyond the prostate while the cancer is encroaching upon the abdomen. The prognosis for such condition is usually death within a few months and only palliative care would be given. However, after only one dose of Ipilimumab (MDX-010), Nelson's tumor has shrunk so much that it could be surgically removed. The surgeons described the tumors as "very hard to find". Another patient in the study, Fructuoso Solano-Revuelta, had a tumor as large as a golf ball with similar prognosis. His tumor too have shrunk after application of Ipilimumab to the extend it became operable. Both men have returned to work.

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Swineflu exposed

Swineflu Exposed

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Health & Medicine Research ah1n1 swineflu

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