A study published in the journal Genes and Development, reveals new insights about cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. The researchers, led by Erwin Wagner, head of the F- BBVA – CNIO Cancer Cell Biology Program and of the Genes, Development and Disease Group, have turned their attention to oncogene c -Fos, which is an oncogene that is involved in many cellular processes related to cancer, and found a new mechanism by which c -Fos oncogene promotes skin cancer. According to the study, squamous cell carcinoma is triggered by the stimulation of the immune system which is caused by an increase in expression c-Fos oncogene in the skin.

Also, researchers have found that squamous cell carcinoma progression can be slowed down by anti-inflammatory drugs. It seems that anti-inflammatory drugs block the immune response triggered by c -Fos oncogene. Regarding the inflammatory immune response, it was believed until recently that the body has defense mechanisms when a cancer develops. But recently there has been increasingly more evidence that chronic inflammation plays an important role in cancer as it stimulates the growth and survival of cancer cells.

Juan Guinea – Viniegra researcher from the Wagner ‘s team, said that they know that there are certain cancers such as pancreatic, liver and colon cancer in which inflammation plays an important role. Another argument that supports the role of inflammation in cancer is that there are many inflammatory skin diseases such as lupus or chronic ulcers that increase the risk of cancer, even though researchers could not find out the mechanisms behind this process.

Eva Briso, first author of the study, explained how the immune response and c -Fos oncogene promote the development of skin cancer. Laboratory experiments showed that in mice that have an increased expression of c -Fos in the skin there is a recruitment of CD4 + T cells, which are part of the immune system, and these triggers carcinogenesis. Briso also said that tumors decreased when treated with anti-inflammatory drugs ( which blocked the immune response mediated by CD4 + T cells ).

In addition, when researchers investigated c -Fos expression in squamous cell carcinoma, they found that most of these tumors had an increased expression of the oncogene. Of the approximately one hundred patients with SCCs investigated, 75 % of them had an increased expression of c -Fos and increased inflammatory activity. Based on these new findings, researchers are now thinking to develop new therapies to treat skin cancer.

According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, consumption of fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of all cause mortality, particularly in cardiovascular disease related mortality. The analysis was done by European researchers from 10 countries, as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition ( EPIC ). Studies so far have shown that eating fruits and vegetables helps prevent chronic diseases and that it can reduce mortality by 25 %, and the current study confirms these results. We know that eating fruits and vegetables is recommended for a healthy diet, so these results are not completely  new. However it should be noted that this new study confirms and demonstrates that consumption of fruit and vegetables reduces mortality and that this decrease is more significant for cardiovascular disease mortality. María José Sánchez Pérez, director of the Andalusian School of Public Health ‘s ( EASP ) Granada Cancer Registry and one of the authors of the research, explained that this study is the largest epidemiological study that examined this association.

According to the study, combined consumption of fruits and vegetables of more than 569 grams per day can reduce the risk of mortality by 10% compared with the consumption of less than 249 grams per day. The study also showed that mortality risk may be delayed by 1.12 years. Also, the results show that for each increase in consumption of 200 grams per day of fruit and vegetables the risk is reduced by 6%. Sánchez pointed out that there is now sufficient evidence of the beneficial effects of fruit and vegetables on cancer and chronic disease prevention  and added that promoting the consumption of fruits and vegetables is one of the most effective prevention measures. It has been shown that people who have a diet rich in fruits and vegetables have a risk of cardiovascular mortality by 15 % lower. It was also showed that 4% of deaths due to cardiovascular causes could be prevented by eating more than 400 grams of fruit and vegetables per day. When researchers analyzed the benefits of eating fruit separately, they found  no significant risk reduction, while vegetables consumption alone was associated with a lower mortality risk . This risk was significant for raw vegetables, according to the study as it seems that high intake of raw vegetables decreases the risk of death by 16%. In terms of cancer related mortality, Sanchez said that the study did not prove any statistically significant risk reduction, but that this relationship should be evaluated in conjunction with the various types of cancer.

Researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine conducted several studies highlighting the harmful effects of cocaine use during pregnancy on children. Exposure to cocaine during pregnancy affects both brain and behavior of offspring , according to the study published in Biological Psychiatry. Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry, emphasized that this study is a warning for pregnant women who use cocaine. He added that we need a long-term perspective to assess these risks because the brain that appears typically at birth may eventually develop abnormally.

Experiments on animals have shown that exposure to cocaine during development in the womb causes many disturbances in normal brain development and negatively affects the child’s behavior. It was not possible to perform such studies in humans due to ethical considerations but the research that was conducted showed that children who were exposed to cocaine in utero, had problems regarding attention, memory, stress, emotional control, etc. Researchers also believe that these children are more likely to consume illegal substances.

researchers Yale University School of Medicine , led by Dr. Rajita Sinha , reached these conclusions after a study on adolescents who were prenatally exposed to cocaine and adolescents who were not exposed. They wanted to examine the differences in brain gray matter between these two groups of teenagers and see the probability of addiction.

They included in the study 42 adolescents exposed in utero ( aged between 14 and 17 years) who were part of a long term cohort followed from birth, and 21 non-exposed adolescents . To evaluate the gray matter of the brain, the researchers conducted several neuroimaging investigations on participants . Also, because researchers wanted to see what is the risk of addiction in participants exposed to cocaine in utero, they questioned the teenagers about the use of any illicit substances. In addition, urine samples were collected for toxicological analysis .

After processing the information, the researchers confirmed their hypothesis, namely that , compared to non-exposed adolescents, teens exposed to cocaine during development in the womb have a smaller volume of gray matter in brain regions involved in attention, memory and executive functions. It was also found that the volume of gray matter was related to the initiation of illicit substance use.

What is interesting is that a decrease in gray matter volume of 1 ml increased the probability of initiating substance use by 69.6 % to 83.6% , depending on what a brain region was involved.  “One can speculate that in the future, with additional validation, such specific brain alterations may serve as biomarkers of risk that can be targeted to prevent drug use and abuse,” Sinha concluded.

An article published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, points out that insulin and glucose metabolism disorders can increase the risk of cancers linked to obesity. Scientists estimate that one third of cancer cases that will occur in the future will be related to obesity and disorders of glucose metabolism. In other words, physical inactivity and poor nutrition will significantly influence the health of people.

We already know that obesity is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. What is less known is that obesity is correlated with certain cancers such as colon cancer or breast cancer ( postmenopausal ). Therefore, experts recommend a healthy lifestyle that includes sustained exercise and a healthy diet.

Nutritional epidemiologist Niyati Parekh , Assistant Professor of Public Health Nutrition Within NYU Steinhardt ‘s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and NYU Langone ‘s Department of Population Health, said that there is increasingly more evidence suggesting that body fat is linked with cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, colorectal, breast and other types of cancers. A sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition cause an increase in weight and therefore an increase in the amount of body fat, and this in turn promotes cancer development.  “A sedentary lifestyle “ that is a lack of physical activity “ and poor diet contributes to increased body fat and produces an overall environment within the body that is conducive to cancer development”

It is known that obesity disturbs insulin metabolism. According to Parekh,  individuals who are obese are more likely to have high concentrations of glucose and insulin, which is an undesirable condition because it stimulates cancer growth. She explained that in individuals with elevated levels of insulin and glucose, processes like growth, rapid multiplication and spread of tumor cells are enhanced compared to individuals without such abnormalities.

The research conducted by Parekh used information from the Framingham Heart Study, a well-known 60-year study that was conducted to identify risk factors for cardiovascular disease . There were followed three generations of individuals and thus there were collected demographic data, information on diet, medical history, blood analyses etc. Study participants were interviewed in person and questioned by regular checkups every four years.

Parekh said that what is interesting from these results is that they may be able to develop certain guidelines and strategies for the prevention of obesity-related cancers: “Based on our findings, we recommend lifestyle that may alleviate disturbances in inulin and glucose, as a cancer control tool in the context of the nation’s obesity problem.”

An article published in Nature Medicine shows that researchers at Imperial College London are very close to developing a universal vaccine against flu. To get to this point, researchers used the 2009 pandemics to find out why some people are resistant to severe illness. Researchers collected blood samples from volunteers who reported having any kind of flu symptom during the swine flu pandemic, and in this way they found that those who were not ill at that time had more CD8 T cells in the blood. CD8 T cells are part of the immune system (with B cells, natural killer cells, macrophages etc. )that destroy viruses.

Based on this discovery, researchers thought that if there was a possibility to stimulate the body to produce more CD8 T cells, the body would be more resistant to infection. Professor Ajit Lalvani from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, who led the study, noted that flu strains continue to emerge and some of these are life threatening. He added that the goal is to create a universal vaccine that is effective against all strains of flu.

It must be said that today’s vaccines contain viruses or components of viruses that stimulate immunity as they cause the body to produce antibodies. When the organism comes into contact with a virus, the antibodies recognize it (in fact , they recognize structures on the surface of the viruses ) and destroy it. But as mentioned Professor Lalvani, there always appear new strains of flu with new structures, which means that vaccines are not effective in all cases.

Previous studies have shown that T cells can protect against flu symptoms but so far there have not been research to prove this hypothesis in humans. In autumn 2009 , the research team of Professor Lalvani recruited 342 staff and students. Participants in the study were collected blood for investigations and received nasal swabs. Every three weeks, they had to fill out a survey about their health and if they had flu symptoms, they had to take the nasal swabs that they received at the beginning of the study and send it to the lab.

Researchers found that those who had severe flu symptoms, had fewer T cells in their blood, and those who caught flu but had no symptoms or had mild symptoms were found to have more T cells. “Our findings suggest that by making the body produce more of this specific type of CD8 T cell, you can protect people against symptomatic illness. This provides the blueprint for developing a universal flu vaccine,” Lalvani said.

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine in collaboration with Harvard University have made new discoveries about Alzheimer’s disease ( AD) that could lead to the development of new therapies. It seems that beta- amyloid, a well known protein that is involved in Alzheimer’s, begins to destroy synapses before they aggregate in plaques ( one of the hallmarks of AD).

Statistics show that there are 5 million people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and it is estimated that these numbers will increase in the future. There are two important features in Alzheimer’s disease : synapse loss and impaired cognitive functions such as memory. Carla Shatz , PhD, professor of neurobiology and of biology and senior author of the study , noted that their findings suggest that Alzheimer’s disease begins to manifest long before the formation of beta -amyloid plaques.

Experiments on laboratory animals and human brain tissue explain why clinical trials in recent years  failed in their attempt to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by targeting these beta -amyloid plaques. The research also could provide the basis for new more effective therapies. Beta amyloid, although initially isolated , has a tendency to form aggregates or plaques, which alter nerve cells.

  The study led by researchers at Stanford University and Harvard University is the first to show that the clustered form of beta amyloid destroys synapses by binding to a receptor on neurons. Synapses, which are communications between neurons, are extremely important in the normal functioning of the brain; they have a role in memory storage, processing emotions and thoughts, etc. Researchers observed during laboratory experiments  that, if mice lack a protein located very close to the synapses, they were resistant to breakdown memory and synapse loss. The study showed for the first time that this protein, called PirB, is a receptor for the clustered form of beta -amyloid. In other words,  PirB binds very tightly to beta amyloid leading to a whole series of events that ultimately results in the destruction of synapses.

Also, in another experiment conducted by Taeho Kim , PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Shatz ‘s lab and the lead author of the new study, researchers compared the proteins in the brains PirB – expressing Alzheimer ‘s mice with the PirB – lacking Alzheimer ‘s mice. They noted that in the latter, a certain enzyme called cofilin have an increased activity. This observation has also been highlighted by other studies that showed that cofilin activity is significantly higher in patients with Alzheimer’s disease compared to patients without Alzheimer’s disease. Now, based on these new discoveries, researchers hope to develop better therapies for treating Alzheimer.

According to a new study led by researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, pregnant women who have a body mass index too low or too high are more likely to have maternal complications and to require additional medical services and higher medical costs. The study was published in the BJOG : An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and was conducted in collaboration with the Information Services Division of NHS Scotland .

Mike Marsh, BJOG deputy editor -in- chief, said that maternal obesity during pregnancy is a major cause of ill health that increases the risk of hypertension and gestational diabetes. Marsh emphasized that it is important for women to maintain their body weight before conception in order to reduce the risk of future complications of pregnancy. The researchers came to these results after they investigated more than 100,000 obstetric records in Scotland, in the period 2003-2010. They focused on BMI of pregnant women, maternal complications, the number and length of hospital stay and costs.

According to BMI, pregnant women included in the study were divided into 5 groups : underweight, BMI less than 18.5, normal weight, BMI 18.5-24.9 , overweight , BMI 25-29.9 , obese, BMI over 35. When they analyzed the BMI of pregnant women and maternal complications, researchers found that the risk increases with BMI compared to women with normal BMI. It seems that severely obese women had three times higher risk of hypertension and gestational diabetes.

The researchers also found that medical costs were higher. Compared with women with normal BMI, all other categories had an increase regarding the duration and number of hospital admissions. There is a significant difference in terms of underweight women and overweight or obese women: the first had a risk of 8% in terms of hospitalization, while women who were overweight, obese or severely obese had a risk of 16%, 45% and, respectively 88%. Dr Fiona Denison co- author of the paper, noted that the study shows that both women with low BMI and women with higher BMI  have an increased risk of complications during pregnancy, a greater number and a longer duration of hospitalization and higher medical costs.

According to Dr Denison, these results highlight the need for local and national governments in Scotland and other developed countries to implement basic strategies to help reduce the prevalence of obesity. Dr Denison added that long-term benefits of reducing maternal obesity will lead to improvements not only in the maternal and child health outcomes but also in terms of maternity costs.

It is well known that consumption of red grapes and blueberries has many health benefits and prevents aging. Now a new research conducted by scientists from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, has shown that certain compounds found in red grapes and blueberries strengthen the immune function. They analyzed more than 400 compounds in these fruits and found that two compounds, called stilbenoids ( resveratrol in red grapes and pterostilbene in blueberries ) stimulate innate immunity in humans.

Stilbenoids are produced by plants to fight infections and in humans it seems to interfere with some molecular signaling pathways that stimulate the activity of vitamin D. The study showed that the combination of these two compounds ( stilbenoids and vitamin D ) has a stronger effect than if they act separately.

According to the study, these compounds called stilbenoids work in synergy with vitamin D and stimulate the expression of a gene involved in immunity, cathelicidin antimicrobial human peptide, or CAMP gene. It should be noted however that these discoveries were made in the laboratory and it has not been yet proved that the same results can be obtained by exogenous intake; however the study demonstrates the potential of some foods to boost immune function.

Adrian Gombart , an LPI principal investigator and associate professor in the OSU College of Science , said that out of the hundreds of compounds analyzed only two were found to enhance immunity. He added that the synergy with vitamin D to increase CAMP gene expression was significant and intriguing.

In recent years several studies have been conducted that pointed out the benefits of resveratrol ( compound found in red grapes ) on health. According to these studies, resveratrol prevent  cardiac disease and cancer. It has also been questioned the anti-inflammatory role of this compound. The study led by researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University is the first of its kind to demonstrate the synergy of vitamin D and resveratrol and the first to show that this compound can increase CAMP gene expression by several times.

Also, recently there have been several studies that analyzed the CAMP gene and its role in innate immunity. Innate immunity is the body’s first line of defense in the fight against bacterial infections. Innate immunity is extremely important especially when antibiotics start to lose efficiency. Studies have shown a strong link between adequate vitamin D levels and CAMP gene, and recent research show that it is possible that other compounds may also be involved.

A healthy diet and lifestyle improves not only the physical but also the mental state according to a study led by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland. The prospective follow-up study conducted on more than 2,000 people showed that a healthy diet reduces the risk of severe depression. The study has also shown that those who change their lifestyle and lose weight are much less likely to have depressive symptoms.

Ms Anu Ruusunen, MSc, from the University of Eastern Finland, said the study strengthened the hypothesis that diet not only fight depression but also prevents this mental illness. Usually depressed people have an unhealthy diet and a low intake of nutrients. Despite this , until now it was unclear if diet and consuming various foods and nutrients have anything to do with the risk of depression in healthy individuals.

A healthy diet includes whole grains, vegetables, fruits, chicken, low fat cheese, fish, etc. These foods along with regular exercise prevent cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, etc. Researchers have now shown that this type of diet was associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms during follow- up period.

Another interesting finding was that folate helps prevent depressive symptoms. Folate, or folic acid, is found in a wide range of foods such as liver, meat, berries, vegetables, whole grains, and it seems that increased consumption of folate reduces the risk of depression. Also, researchers have found that increased consumption of coffee is beneficial in reducing this risk. In addition, a lifestyle intervention study conducted over a three year period showed an improvement in depression scores. Furthermore, weight loss was associated with an even greater reduction in depressive symptoms. “The study reinforces the hypothesis that a healthy diet has potential not only in the warding off of depression, but also in its prevention,” Ruusunen said.

On the other hand, the study demonstrated that unhealthy food resulted in intensified depressive symptoms. According to the study conducted by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland, people who consume sugary drinks, desserts, processed meats, snacks, processed potatoes, etc, are more likely to develop depressive symptoms.

What is interesting is that the study showed that intake of vitamin B1, n-3 PUFAS , serum ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFAS , tea and coffee consumption do not influence the risk of depression. It should be noted however that these findings are contrary to previous studies.