Life Extension and Insilico Medicine Use Artificial Intelligence to Develop Ageless – WholeFoods Magazine

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Fort Lauderdale, FL Life Extension has partnered with Insilico Medicine to introduce Ageless Cell, the first supplement in its GEROPROTECT line to promote healthy aging by inhibiting cellular senescence.

Cellular senescence is a natural part of the aging process where cells no longer function optimally, affecting organ function, cellular metabolism, and the inflammation response. The accumulation of these senescent cells contributes to the process of aging. The Ageless Cell supplements inhibit the effects of cellular senescence by acting as geroprotectors, or interventions aimed to increase longevity and impede the onset of age-related diseases by targeting and inhibiting senescence-inducing pathways and inhibiting the development of senescent cells.

The partnership with Insilico Medicine allowed researchers to use deep learning algorithms to comb through hundreds of studies and thousands of data points a process that could have taken decades to identify four key anti-aging nutrients: N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC), myricetin, gamma-tocotrienol, and EGCG. These compounds target pathways that are known to contribute to or protect against the development of senescent cells.

Specifically, NAC upregulates signaling pathways that protect cells against oxidative stress, which promotes cellular senescence. It also reduces pathways that promote inflammation. Myricetin regulates a family of stress-responsive signaling molecules known to regulate aging in many tissues. It also promotes cell differentiation and self-repair. Gamma tocotrienol modulates the mevalonate pathway that controls cholesterol production, cancer promotion, and bone formation. And EGCG regulates the Wnt pathway that determines the fate of developing cells and also prevents sugar-induced damage to tissues, helping to suppress their pro-aging effects.

Clinical aging studies are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to perform at this time. Our collaboration with Insilico Medicine has allowed us to develop geroprotective formulations by using artificial intelligence to study very large data sets, said Andrew G. Swick, Ph.D., senior vice president of product development and scientific affairs for Life Extension.

Scientists found these four nutrients have various complementary and reinforcing properties to influence key anti-aging pathways and combat aging factors by modulating specific biological pathways. By rejuvenating near-senescent cells and encouraging the bodys healthy process for dealing with senescent cells, Ageless Cell turns back the clock at the cellular level, said Michael A. Smith, M.D., senior health scientist for Life Extension.

Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D., CEO of Insilico Medicine said, Together, these four natural compounds represent the beginning of the future anti-aging cocktails identified using artificial intelligence under expert human supervision.

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Cardax Astaxanthin Compound CDX-085 Stimulates Anti-Aging … – Business Wire (press release)

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HONOLULU--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cardax, Inc. (Cardax) (OTCQB:CDXI) and the University of Hawaii (UH) announced today that Cardaxs proprietary astaxanthin compound, CDX-085, demonstrated an almost 90% increase in FOXO3 gene expression in mice (p=0.024).

This research was conducted by UH scientists Dr. Bradley Willcox, M.D., Professor and Director of Research at the Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii (JABSOM) and Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Kuakini Hawaii Lifespan and Healthspan Studies, and Dr. Richard Allsopp, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Institute of Biogenesis Research at JABSOM.

Previously in humans, Dr. Willcox and colleagues discovered genetic variants of FOXO3 in humans that protect against aging (Willcox et al. Proc US Natl Acad Sci 2008).

This observation has since been replicated in >20 independent studies. At the American Heart Association Meeting in 2015, it was announced that the protective FOXO3 allele is strongly associated with reduced coronary heart disease mortality (p=0.00001) (AHA Meeting 2015) and later published in the leading gerontology journal (Willcox et al. J Gerontol Biol Med Sci 2016).

These results augment earlier findings in the C. elegans roundworm, a well-accepted model of aging, said Dr. Allsopp, where astaxanthin extended lifespan by 16-30%.

All of us have the FOXO3 gene, which protects against aging in humans, said Dr. Willcox. But about one in three persons carry a version of the FOXO3 gene that is associated with longevity. By activating the FOXO3 gene common in all humans, we can make it act like the "longevity" version. Through this research, we have shown that astaxanthin activates the FOXO3 gene.

This exciting new evidence provides yet another reason for physicians and patients to consider an astaxanthin dietary supplement such as ZanthoSyn as the foundation of an anti-aging, longevity program, said David G. Watumull, Cardax CEO.

About CDX-085

CDX-085 is the patented active ingredient of Cardaxs second generation product and like its first generation dietary supplement, ZanthoSyn, delivers astaxanthin to the blood stream with excellent absorption and purity, but in a more concentrated form, allowing higher doses per capsule and improved dosing convenience. Astaxanthin is a safe anti-inflammatory for general health that supports anti-aging and longevity.*

About FOXO3

FOXO3 is a member of the forkhead family of transcription factors. The human homolog in C. elegans, daf-16, has profound effects on longevity (Kenyon et al. A C. elegans mutant that lives twice as long as wild type. Nature 1993). Scientists led by Dr. Bradley Willcox, MD, member of the Cardax scientific advisory board, discovered a genetic variant of FOXO3 in humans that protects against aging (Willcox et al. Proc US Natl Acad Sci 2008). This observation has since been replicated in >20 independent studies. The protective FOXO3 allele (G allele) is associated with longevity with one G allele (GT genotype) doubling the odds to live to 100 and two G alleles (GG genotype) tripling the odds to live to 100. The protective FOXO3 allele is strongly associated with reduced coronary heart disease mortality (p=0.00001) (Willcox et al. AHA Meeting 2015) and the protective FOXO3 allele is strongly associated with reduced serum inflammatory markers (CRP and TNF-).

About Cardax

Cardax devotes substantially all of its efforts to developing and commercializing safe anti-inflammatory dietary supplements and drugs. Cardax is initially focusing on astaxanthin, which is a powerful and safe naturally occurring anti-inflammatory without the side effects of currently marketed anti-inflammatories. The safety and efficacy of Cardax's products have not been directly evaluated in clinical trials or confirmed by the FDA.

Safe Harbor

This release may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding our prospective performance and strategies within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are including this statement for purposes of said safe harbor provisions. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies, and expectations of our company, are generally identified by use of words anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, intend, plan, project, seek, strive, try, or future or conditional verbs such as could, may, should, will, would, or similar expressions. Our ability to predict results or the actual effects of our plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from anticipated results. Some of the factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our expectations or beliefs include, without limitation, the risks discussed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, we undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which such statements were made.

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Brain Resets During Sleep – Anti Aging News

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Posted on March 28, 2017, 6 a.m. in Sleep Brain and Mental Performance

New research explains how synapses in the cortex expand with daytime stimulation and shrink with sleep, resetting the brain and preparing it for the next day.

The need for, and mechanisms that drive sleep have consistently puzzled scientists. However, novel work from researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health have tested their synaptic homeostasis hypothesis (SHY) for why animals need sleep. SHY theory describes a need for sleep

This four-year study by Luisa de Vivo and her colleagues, published in Science, supported the SHY theory. The SHY theory describes changes in synapses during waking and sleeping hours. Synapses are the junctions between two neurons, the larger the synapse, the stronger these two neurons can communicate - this ease of communication is how animals learn skills and make memories. Yet in order for brains to be pliable and learn new things, the synapses must shrink so these neural pathways can be activated again. SHY theory suggests that sleep allows these synapses to shrink.

According to SHY theory, sleep provides the perfect environment for the shrinking of synapses, allowing the brain to learn new things following day. The lack of stimulation while sleeping results in reduced activity between neurons, and therefore the distance between the neurons grows smaller allowing them to be activated with a weaker stimulation. This phenomenon allows brains to make new neural connections the following day, thereby allowing new memories to form and more efficient learning.

Testing SHY theory

Lead author Luisa de Vivo, along with her fellow researchers, tested their theory by measuring the size of synapses both before and after sleep. They utilized three-dimensional scanning electron microscopy to visualize and reconstruct the mouse brain and measured nearly 7000 synapses. They specifically looked at neurons involved in motor functions and sensory perception. The team then repeated this process after the mice had slept (making sure to note how long the mice had slept), and measured the synapses again.

The researchers found that the synaptic size correlated with the amount of sleep the mice had. The longer the mice had slept, the smaller the synapses had become with a few hours sleep resulting in the reduction by ~18 percent. Interestingly, the researchers only observed this phenomenon in ~80 percent of synapses and that the largest of synapses appeared not to be susceptible to the shrinking. They hypothesize that these synapses might not follow the pattern because those synapses are associated with stable, long-term memories or skills. These results support SHYs central tenant that the function of sleep is to renormalize synapse size that increases throughout the day. The researchers theorize that the shrinking of the synapses might be related to the lack of neurotransmitters during sleep, especially noradrenaline.

Giulio Tononi, head of the research group and Chair of Sleep Medicine at the University of Wisconsin believes the relevance of this works extends beyond mice, "extrapolating from mice to humans, our findings mean that every night trillions of synapses in our cortex could get slimmer by nearly 20 percent,"

The lack of stimulation that brains receive during sleep allows specific synapses to shrink, resulting in a brain that is ready to learn and create new memories the following day. This research provides rational to the large body of work that suggests animals learn skills better following a long sleep. Important synapses and neural pathways seem immune to this process of renormalization indicating that systems have evolved to preserve important memories and skills.

Ultrastructural evidence for synaptic scaling across the wake/sleep cycle Luisa de Vivo1, Michele Bellesi1,2, William Marshall1, Eric A. Bushong3, Mark H. Ellisman3,4, Giulio Tononi1,*, Chiara Cirelli1,* Science 03 Feb 2017: Vol. 355, Issue 6324, pp. 507-510 DOI: 10.1126/science.aah5982

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Is it Really High Blood Pressure? – Anti Aging News

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Posted on March 27, 2017, 6 a.m. in Cardio-Vascular Diagnostics

More than half of family doctors in Canada are still using manual devices, a dated technology that often leads to misdiagnosis.

A study by researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) reports that over half of the Canadian family doctors are still making use of manual devices to measure blood pressure, which is a dated technology. Using a manual device to measure blood pressure often leads to misdiagnosis. Approximately 20% of those receiving treatment for hypertension don't actually have it and do not need medication.

Automatic electronic devices, called oscillometric devices, are available and are recommended by the Guidelines of the Canadian Hypertension Education Program (CHEP) as preferable to manual measurement.

However, in the spring of 2016, the team that conducted the survey among the Canadian family doctors found that 52% of the 769 who responded stated that they made use of a manual tensiometer to measure patients' blood pressure, and only 43% used an automatic device.

The lead author of the study, Janusz Kaczorowski, is a medical sociologist, a CRCHUM researcher, and a professor in the Department of Family and Emergency Medicine.

Manual measurement is acceptable if it is done properly, but that is not always the case. Kaczorowski stated that clinicians should use automatic devices because they are more precise and take several measurements. Automated measurement has an advantage because it eliminates white-coat syndrome, which is an artificially high blood pressure reading that is a result of being in a doctor's office.

To take blood pressure properly, a 12- to 15-minute period is required with the patient being left alone in a room while the measurement is taken. That is difficult because the average visit to a family doctor lasts only 10 minutes.

Blood pressure is the pressure that the blood exerts on the walls of arteries. Measured in an artery in the arm, blood pressure has two measurements: systolic as the heart contracts and diastolic as the heart relaxes. Normal pressure has the systolic pressure at below 140 mmHg and the diastolic pressure at below 90 mmHg. Above those numbers, a person is said to have high blood pressure or hypertension.

In Canada, one of every five adults suffers from hypertension, which is the greatest global risk factor for disability and death. Healthcare costs due to hypertension were evaluated at over $13 billion in 2010. Kaczorowski says that if blood pressure was measured incorrectly, there are considerable financial implications as well as possible side effects, which could be avoided.

The CHEP Guidelines state that modification of health-related behaviors is an efficient way of treating and preventing high blood pressure and reducing the cardiovascular disease risk. It is possible to lower one's blood pressure with a healthy diet, reduced intake of sodium, regular physical activity, moderate consumption of alcohol, tobacco product avoidance, and stress management.

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Is it Really High Blood Pressure? - Anti Aging News

Cromwell Schubarth TechFlash Editor Silicon Valley Business Journal – Silicon Valley Business Journal

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Cromwell Schubarth TechFlash Editor Silicon Valley Business Journal
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It's focused on extending human health span, initially focused on diseases of aging. The big idea is that its drugs have been given to animals and those animals are surviving 25 percent to 30 percent longer. Importantly, they're surviving with shiny ...

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Cromwell Schubarth TechFlash Editor Silicon Valley Business Journal - Silicon Valley Business Journal

New Drugs That Could Help Us Live Longer – Healthline

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Were living longer these days, but that hasnt stopped newer branches of medicine from trying to enhance and further extend our lifespans.

Researchers in longevity medicine and biogerontology are studying drugs and compounds that can prevent and reverse aging on the cellular level.

Over the past few years, public interest in longevity issues has grown, but that interest is mostly in health-extending therapies, not simply life-extending therapies. Most people are interested in living longer, but only if they can also be healthier longer, Sonia Arrison, author of 100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, From Careers and Relationships to Family and Faith, and founder of Singularity University in California, told Healthline.

While many people are focused on lifestyle changes, the addition of drugs rapamycin and metformin are two that Arrison mentioned gives humans more options to extend their lives as well as the quality of their lives.

Compared with preventative drugs such as statins to avoid having a heart attack, anti-aging drugs fight multiple diseases at once instead of focusing on one ailment, Arrison added.

A person who goes by the name Reason, a technologist and author on FightAging.org, which highlights health- and longevity-enhancing medical technologies, told Healthline that the drugs are targeting a wide range of age-related ailments and diseases.

All age-related diseases are age-related because they are caused by the processes of aging, which is to say an accumulation of damage in cells and tissues, Reason wrote in an email.

Read more: Botox may have long-lasting, anti-aging effects

The field of geroprotection involves understanding cell senescence, which is when cells stop dividing.

When senescent cells no longer divide, they stop functioning, so organ health deteriorates. Cell senescence also causes the release of proinflammatory cytokines, which damage tissues.

This arena involves the use of geroprotectors, which are compounds that can stop or reverse cellular aging, and senolytics, which are compounds that can pinpoint and destroy senescent cells.

This is why researchers are looking into geroprotectors and senolytics, which requires long spans of time to understand.

In essence, todays researchers may never see the outcomes of the research theyve started because it can take decades to study. Nevertheless, scientists continue to try to understand these compounds and how they can alter our cells.

Researchers are also looking into our cells telomeres, which are short segments of DNA in our chromosomes that protect cells from wear and tear that comes with aging. As cells divide, they can shorten and no longer protect the chromosome or cell.

Lengthening them is the focus of recent research. Last year, a BGRF study was able to lengthen human telomeres.

A recent report in the journal Cell detailed how peptides were able to boost the life span of mice. The study examined how cell therapy could reverse poor age-related kidney function, fur loss, and frailty in mice.

Scientists are looking into whether or not the approach can also prolong the life span of mice. Human safety studies are in the works.

Reason said there are two schools of thought when exploring extending life through genetic pathways.

One approach is to alter cellular metabolism and make cells age more slowly, but the work is difficult and expensive. The other is to fix old tissue because we understand how it compares with young tissue.

No one yet fully understands everything these [older] cells do to us, but the fastest way to find out is to get rid of them, and we know that doing that in mice extends life and reverts aspects of aging, Reason explained.

Either you slow down the damage, or you repair the damage. Aging is damage. It is in the how of achieving one of those goals that all the complexity starts up, Reason added.

Read more: Beer may keep your DNA young, study says

The Human Aging Genomic Resources (HAGR) website recently released DrugAge, a database of lifespan-extending drugs and compounds.

It includes 418 compounds that were recorded from studies on 27 different model organisms.

HAGR already operates the GenAge database of age and longevity-related genes in humans and model organisms. They also operate AnAge, which has aging and longevity records of more than 4,000 species, the GenDR database of genes associated with the life-extending effects of dietary restriction, and LongevityMap, which includes more than 2,000 human gene and genetic variations linked to longevity.

DrugAge incorporates earlier efforts by Biogerontology Research Foundation (BGRF) scientists, who produced Geroprotectors.org. Right now, its the largest database of its kind.

According to the research teams from BGRF and the University of Liverpool, pharmaceuticals have not targeted most age-related pathways. The research is only focused on a small number of pathways that are currently known.

The goal behind the database is to pave the way for discovery of new life span-extending and health span-extending compounds.

I am confident that it [DrugAge] will gain widespread use in the aging research community, and represents a significant milestone along the way to the coming paradigm shift in modern healthcare away from single disease treatment and toward geroprotective multi-disease prevention, Dmitry Kaminskiy, managing trustee of BGRF, said in a statement.

Franco Cortese, deputy director and trustee of BGRF, said in a statement the database will be extremely valuable for biogerontologists. The BGRF did not respond to Healthlines request for comment.

Already, researchers are using the data to identify trends and develop a better understanding of the comparative effects of geroprotectors on organisms.

Arrison is excited when she sees people teaming up globally to battle human disease and decline something that the DrugAge team is hoping to do with their database.

The more knowledge the health community can get, the better. The wonderful thing about the internet is that knowledge gets distributed faster, making the quest for cures that much quicker, Arrison added.

Read more: Study breaks down aging process, may lead to solutions

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New Drugs That Could Help Us Live Longer - Healthline

Lacking EMTs, an Aging Maine Turns to Immigrants – New York Times

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Lacking EMTs, an Aging Maine Turns to Immigrants
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Now, thanks to an unusual program that is training immigrants to become emergency medical technicians, she is preparing to make better use of her medical background and, she hopes, work her way up to becoming a physician assistant if not, someday, ...

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Lacking EMTs, an Aging Maine Turns to Immigrants - New York Times

Peptide targeting senescent cells restores stamina, fur, and kidney … – Medical Xpress

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March 23, 2017 Two fast-aging mice. The mouse on the left was treated with a FOXO4 peptide, which targets senescent cells and leads to hair regrowth in ten days. The mouse on the right was not treated with the peptide. Credit: Peter L.J. de Keizer

Regular infusions of a peptide that can selectively seek out and destroy broken-down cells that hamper proper tissue renewal, called senescent cells, showed evidence of improving healthspan in naturally-aged mice and mice genetically engineered to rapidly age. The proof-of-concept study, published March 23 in Cell, found that an anti-senescent cell therapy could reverse age-related loss of fur, poor kidney function, and frailty. It is currently being tested whether the approach also extends lifespan, and human safety studies are being planned.

The peptide took over four years of trial and error to develop and builds on nearly a decade of research investigating vulnerabilities in senescent cells as a therapeutic option to combat some aspects of aging (Trends in Molecular Medicine, 10.1016/j.molmed.2016.11.006). It works by blocking the ability of a protein implicated in senescence, FOXO4, to tell another protein, p53, not to cause the cell to self-destruct. By interfering with the FOXO4-p53 crosstalk, the peptide causes senescent cells to go through apoptosis, or cell suicide.

"Only in senescent cells does this peptide cause cell death," says senior author Peter de Keizer, a researcher of aging at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands. "We treated mice for over 10 months, giving them infusions of the peptide three times a week, and we didn't see any obvious side effects. FOXO4 is barely expressed in non-senescent cells, so that makes the peptide interesting as the FOXO4-p53 interaction is especially relevant to senescent cells, but not normal cells."

Results appeared at different times over the course of treatment. Fast-aging mice with patches of missing fur began to recover their coats after 10 days. After about three weeks, fitness benefits began to show, with older mice running double the distance of their counterparts who did not receive the peptide. A month after treatment, aged mice showed an increase in markers indicating healthy kidney function.

Senescent cell therapy is one of several strategies being tested in mice aimed at reversing aging or lengthening healthspan. In 2015, the Valter Longo laboratory at the University of Southern California reported that mice on a calorie-restricted diet that mimics fasting benefited from a longer life, a reduction in inflammatory disease, and improved memory (Cell Metabolism, 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.012). And last December, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte at the Salk Institute of Biological Science and colleagues made headlines with their discovery that cellular reprogramming of epigenetic marks could extend lifespan and improve health in fast-aging mice (Cell, 10.1016/j.cell.2016.11.052).

"This wave of research on how we can fight aging is complementary, and not in competition," says de Keizer. "The common thread I see for the future of anti-aging research is that there are three fronts in which we can improve: The prevention of cellular damage and senescence, safe therapeutic removal of senescent cells, to stimulate stem cellsno matter the strategyto improve tissue regeneration once senescence is removed."

de Keizer aims to start a company based on these findings, but in the short term, he and his group want to show that their peptide is non-toxic in humans with no unforeseen side effects. They plan to offer a safety clinical trial in people with Glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain tumor, which also shows high levels of the biomarkers needed for this FOXO4 peptide to be effective.

Explore further: Anti-aging therapies targeting senescent cells: Facts and fiction

More information: Cell, Baar et al.: "Targeted Apoptosis of Senescent Cells Restores Tissue Homeostasis in Response to Chemotoxicity and Aging" http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(17)30246-5 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.02.031

Sebastian Brandhorst et al. A Periodic Diet that Mimics Fasting Promotes Multi-System Regeneration, Enhanced Cognitive Performance, and Healthspan, Cell Metabolism (2015). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.012

Alejandro Ocampo et al. In Vivo Amelioration of Age-Associated Hallmarks by Partial Reprogramming, Cell (2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.11.052

Journal reference: Cell Cell Metabolism

Provided by: Cell Press

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New hormone treatment gaining popularity – Palm Beach Post

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Question: My hormone replacement is not working; is there anything new?

Answer: Hormones affect every aspect of our lives, including general health, mood and overall well-being. The last 10 years have seen a dramatic change in attitude as to how men and women should be treated for hormonal imbalances.

While the movement toward bio-identical hormones has been appropriate from a safety standpoint, the delivery of hormones has been a source of frustration for many patients and their doctors. Because oral therapies have greater risks, patients have been encouraged to try creams, gels, injections and patches.

The issues with these delivery methods are uncontrolled fluctuations in hormone levels, poor absorption into the body, and messy and inconvenient treatment regimens. The net result is that, for many people, their symptoms are not effectively relieved, and the health benefits are not fully realized.

The answer lies in a therapy that, while popular worldwide, is only now beginning to receive the attention it deserves in the U.S. Pellet hormonal therapy seems to be the ideal solution to finding a safe, convenient, reliable and natural delivery of hormonal therapy. Pellets contain pure hormone that is not metabolized into unwanted byproducts, and allows your body to use the right amount of hormone to create better moods, vitality, and health and well-being.

Please join us for a Night of Beauty fundraiser for Project Brilliance. Silent Auction, DJ, Food, Fun, Hair Make Up and More! RSVP to 561-655-6325.

Daniela Dadurian, M.D., specializes in anti-aging medicine and is an expert in non-surgical body-contouring techniques. She received her medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine and has traveled the world researching the safest and latest technologies on the market.

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Lactate May Drive Cancer Development | Worldhealth.net Anti … – Anti Aging News

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Posted on March 24, 2017, 6 a.m. in Cancer Exercise

New study reveals that lactate, a molecule produced during intense exercise, plays a key role in cancer cell formation.

Medical researchers are on a quest to develop a comprehensive understanding of the mechanism that causes the process in which cells become cancerous. This process is known as oncogenesis. A recent study keys in on the molecule generated amidst intense exercise known as lactate. The purpose of this research is to explain lactate's role in the creation of cancer cells. The latest study's findings were published in the popular journal Carcinogenesis. About Lactate

Lactate is the byproduct of glycolysis, a chemical process that breaks apart sugar into smaller molecular components with the ultimate aim of generating energy. Lactate builds up in the blood and tissues when one engages in intense physical activity. If enough lactate accumulates, it can cause diminished physical performance as well as muscle tightness.

A famous German scientist named Otto Warburg first noticed that cancer cells consume an abundance of glucose compared to regular cells. Known as the Warburg effect, this phenomenon is a reference to the fact that cancer cells proceed through more glycolysis and generate more lactate than regular cells. The Latest Research

New research on this subject matter has been spearheaded by the director of the Sports Performance Department and physiology laboratory at the University of Colorado-Boulder's Sports Medicine and Performance Center. The director, Inigo San Millan, was determined to figure out why the Warburg effect occurs. Cancer research has deviated from cell metabolism study to genetics since Warburg's heyday in the early 20th century. However, the latest research might shift the spotlight back to lactate's role in the context of cancer development. Lactate and Oncogenesis

San Millan's research team suggests that lactate is the sole metabolic compound necessary and involved in the nearly half-dozen stages that stem from carcinogenesis. Their study analyzed the role of lactate in the process through which new blood vessels develop within tumors. This medical term for this process is angiogenesis. The study also examined the role of lactate in immune escape. This term refers to the cancer cells' eluding of the human body's natural immune responses. It also delves into the role of lactate in cell migration, self-sufficient metabolism, and metastasis.

San Millan's paper details how lactate assists in the creation of an acidic microenvironment outside of the cancer cell during metastasis. This phenomenon triggers the spread of additional cancer cells. The study also explores the connection between genetic components and lactate. The research team hypothesized that three transcription factors (p53, cMYC and HIF-1) common in the majority of cancers catalyze the deregulation of lactate. Can Halting Lactate Stop Cancer?

The important role of lactate in cancer cell creation helps explain why people who exercise on a regular basis have a low risk of cancer development. Individuals who exercise enjoy a body that is trained to transfer lactate to an energy source for the body, preventing an excessive accumulation of the metabolic compound. The findings allow for speculation that an idle lifestyle combined with an excessive consumption of sugar might lead to an abundance of lactate that leads to cancer. These findings show that lactate is not only present when cancer develops but required for each step of its development. What's Next?

San Millan hopes to team up with the University of Colorado Hospital to analyze the effects of custom tailored physical fitness programs created for cancer patients. At the moment, San Millan is studying the nuances of breast cancer cell lines. His hope is that additional research will ameliorate the quest to develop drugs that prevent the accumulation of lactate. These drugs will likely help key in on monocarboxylate transporters that transmit lactate between the body's cells.

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Anti-aging peptide recovers fur growth, kidney health in mice – Medical News Today

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An anti-aging therapy could be one step closer; in a new study, researchers reveal how a peptide led to the destruction of cells that play a role in aging, reversing fur loss, kidney damage, and frailty in mice.

The research describes how the peptide stops levels of a protein called FOXO4 from increasing in senescent cells, which are cells that lose the ability to replicate and destroy themselves, but which remain metabolically active.

Senescent cells accumulate with age, and studies have shown that they can contribute to the aging process by causing damage to neighboring cells and impairing tissue function.

Previous research has shown that in senescent cells, levels of FOXO4 rise to prevent another protein called p53 from prompting the cells' self-destruction.

By blocking FOXO4 with the peptide, the research team has been able to restore programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in senescent cells.

"Only in senescent cells does this peptide cause cell death," says senior author Peter de Keizer, a researcher of aging at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

"FOXO4 is barely expressed in non-senescent cells, so that makes the peptide interesting, as the FOXO4-p53 interaction is especially relevant to those cells, but not normal cells."

On administering the peptide to fast-aging mice in regular doses, the researchers were able to reverse age-related conditions, such as fur loss and poor kidney health.

The findings were recently published in the journal Cell.

For their study, the researchers tested the peptide on older mice that had aged naturally and mice that had been genetically modified to age rapidly.

Both groups of mice developed characteristics and health problems commonly associated with aging, such as loss of fur, a decline in kidney health, and frailty.

Some of the rodents in each group were given infusions of the peptide three times a week for 10 months, while the remaining mice were monitored as controls.

Both the fast-aging and naturally aged mice saw improvements with peptide treatment, with no apparent side effects.

Within 10 days, the fast-aging mice began to experience fur regrowth. After 3 weeks, the naturally aged mice began to see improvements in fitness, compared with mice that did not receive the peptide.

Additionally, both the fast-aging and naturally aged mice started to demonstrate improvements in kidney function from 1 month after peptide treatment.

The team notes that the effects of peptide treatment were was so strong in fast-aging mice that doses needed to be reduced over the study period.

The researchers say that their findings support previous research showing that targeting senescent cells can help to reverse aging and increase lifespan, though much more research is warranted.

"The common thread I see for the future of anti-aging research is that there are three fronts in which we can improve: the prevention of cellular damage and senescence, safe therapeutic removal of senescent cells, to stimulate stem cells - no matter the strategy - to improve tissue regeneration once senescence is removed," says de Keizer.

He and his colleagues now plan to conduct a clinical trial to assess the safety of the peptide in humans.

Learn how exercise prevents cellular aging by increasing mitochondrial capacity.

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Anti-aging peptide recovers fur growth, kidney health in mice - Medical News Today

Evolutionary biology professor explains how to 'Walk the Tree of Life' – Science Daily

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Pop quiz: Are crocodiles more closely related to lizards or to birds? The answer may surprise you. Although traditional taxonomy classifies birds separately, they are actually closely related to crocodilians, sharing such groupwide characteristics as nest construction, parental care, a four-chambered heart and acoustic communication.

Traditional taxonomy "is an exercise in memorization, and we don't want to use brain cells on labels," said Harry Greene, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow. The traditional system, invented in 1758 by Linnaeus, uses a hierarchical system of kingdoms, phyla, class, order, family, genus and species to make sense of biodiversity. But with the millions of new species identified since the 18th century, the system has become unwieldy and often is misleading, as the crocodile-lizard-bird example shows.

Instead, Greene uses the 35-year-old evolutionary Tree of Life (TOL) classification system, which explains the diversity of life by matching and mapping relationships on a branching diagram or "tree." The tree shows the inferred evolutionary relationships, based on physical or genetic characteristics; those named on each "branch," the taxa, are believed to be descended from a common ancestor.

Greene and Cissy Ballen of the University of Minnesota have just published a paper in PLOS Biology, "Walking and Talking the Tree of Life: Why and How to Teach About Biodiversity," discussing why the evolutionary TOL approach to biodiversity is best, to what extent the traditional taxonomy is still used and how to teach TOL using an active learning approach.

The researchers said they were unsurprised to find the vast majority of university and high school level biology textbooks still present the traditional taxonomy (although the newest textbooks often describe at least some of the TOL system as well). Greene frequently fields requests for guidance on how to teach the TOL and where to find resources about it; such requests motivated him and Ballen to write their paper.

Greene has spent decades refining his approach to teaching the TOL, which he calls "walking and talking the Tree of Life." He uses about 145 names on the TOL as references to illustrate relationships across branch tips and the "nodes" that unite them, each name chosen carefully to aid in understanding and memory. One such aid, for the benefit of pre-med students, is a skull and crossbones symbol at the branch tip of each taxon that includes at least one human pathogen.

At Cornell, the TOL is taught as part of the Evolution and Biodiversity course in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Through the College of Arts and Sciences' Active Learning Initiative, Ballen was hired as a postdoctoral associate to help transition the course from a standard passive lecture format into an active learning structure, emphasizing collaborative in-class group work and discussion.

In the revised class format, students are given pre-lecture assignments that include video podcasts ("vodcasts") and textbook readings; class time is spent reinforcing this material through active learning exercises and class discussions. Other changes made to the course include pre-class quizzes, which serve as low-risk assessments of how well the students have absorbed the pre-lecture assignments; the use of i-Clickers in class; and a random-number generator that calls on different groups in the class to answer questions to encourage student engagement.

"Because of the open-mindedness and progressive thinking about teaching from the EEB faculty, they were open to everything," said Ballen.

Greene admits he was a skeptic at first. Although he was a big fan of i-Clickers, which he'd been using for years, flipping the class felt "faddish" to him.

"Field teaching is the original active learning," he said. "If you want to see students light up, get them muddy and put a salamander in their hand."

But after seeing the improvement in test scores with active learning, especially among underrepresented minorities, sitting in on the lectures and participating as a teacher, Greene is a convert: "I would never want to go back to traditional lectures."

Ballen agrees. In the active learning format, she explained, students are much more energized and responsive. "They stay alert and engaged. They talk more and there's a lot more laughter."

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Revolutionary anti-ageing drug makes you look younger and live longer – Perth Now

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Dr Lindsay Wu is a researcher and is taking anti-ageing pills. Pix of Dr Wu in his research lab. Pic Stephen Cooper

AUSTRALIAN scientists have discovered a vitamin, nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), that helps cells repair DNA damage and its so good they are taking the pill themselves.

The cells of the old mice were indistinguishable from the young mice, after just one week of treatment, said Professor David Sinclair of UNSW School of Medical Sciences and Harvard Medical School Boston.

The study showed middle-aged mice given the vitamin lived 20 per cent longer and were able to run faster.

This is the closest we are to a safe and effective anti-ageing drug thats perhaps only three to five years away from being on the market if the trials go well, says joint researcher Dr Lindsay Wu from the University NSW.

Sydney businesswoman Kate Johnson, 34, runs a natural lip gloss company and said she is keen to try the anti-ageing product when it hits the market.

Im only in my early 30s myself but I would look at something like that in the future, she said.

I know certain facets of the market would think its not natural and say you should age gracefully and Im a huge believer in ageing gracefully, but at the same time you shouldnt apologise for doing something that makes you feel happy or healthy.

This sounds like a drug that will be revolutionary for women who are fickle about ageing and want to load up on drugs to fight it. And (it will be used by) other women who just want another product, just like cleansing their face in the morning.

Dr Wu, aged 33, is not old, but says he has been taking the vitamin pill for a year.

I am using it, Im not supposed to take it but I feel just fine, there are no side-effects, he said.

I take it out of intellectual curiosity.

In a paper published in Science today, the researchers identify a critical step in the molecular process that allows cells to repair damaged DNA.

Research by University NSW scientists Prof Sinclair and Dr Wu into the substance won NASAs iTech competition in December last year because of its potential use in the planned 2025 mission to Mars.

Accelerated ageing caused by cosmic radiation, mental impairment and increased risk of cancer are pitfalls of space travel.

On a trip to Mars five per cent of the astronauts cells will die affecting their mental and physical capacity.

Its hoped this vitamin might be able to reverse that damage says Dr Wu.

Back on earth the medicine promises to help every human defy the ageing process and stay healthy and it has potential to overcome the terrible side effects of cancer radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Its also been found to treat Type 2 diabetes and restore vision following eye damage in animals.

A separate Japanese study showed mice given NMN gained less weight with ageing even when they consumed more food perhaps because their boosted metabolism used more energy.

However, he said the general population should not use it until it has been property tested in clinical trials.

And when clinical trials are complete it wont be on the market to treat ageing, instead it is likely to be used as a therapy to treat the side effects of cancer radiotherapy.

The big problem is that regulatory authorities dont recognise ageing as a disease even though you lose memory, you lose movement and it gives you cancer, he says.

To get approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and Australias Therapeutic Goods Administration NMN will have to be registered to treat a recognised disease like the side effects of radiation.

Things could be about to change though. A US trial is underway to test whether the diabetes drug metformin can extend human life and prevent cancer because of evidence it expands lifespan in animals.

The makers of Metformin will be the first to push the FDA to recognise ageing, change is in the air, says Dr Wu.

The discovery of the vitamin developed out of research into the famed life extending qualities of the molecule resveratrol found in red wine.

HOW IT WORKS

NMN works on the same biological pathway as resveratrol.

Every time we go out into the sun our DNA is damaged but our body repairs the damage, however as we age our bodys ability to do the repairs declines, Dr Wu explains.

A vitamin Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) present in every cell boosts the bodys ability to repair cells but it declines by 60 per cent as we age or when we are exposed to radiation.

If you can boost NAD+ you can boost DNA repair, he says.

The research found that if you treated mice with a NAD+ precursor, or booster, called NMN it improved their cells ability to repair DNA damage caused by radiation exposure or old age.

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Discover Optimal Healthcare in Brookhaven offers patients alternative to surgery – Delco News Network

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BROOKHAVEN >> Slightly under two years ago, Dr. Jason Weigner, DC, opened Discover Optimal Healthcare at 3605 Edgemont Ave. to offer patients an alternative to the common separate health care system that, he said, is often extremely costly and ineffective.

Rather than expecting patients to manage their own care and go from facility to facility to visit a medical doctor, a chiropractor, a physical therapist and other health care professionals, all while treating the same injury or condition, Discover Optimal Healthcare offers all of the professionals under one roof for the patients welfare, convenience and to coordinate their entire care as a team. Weigner said that each health care professional is a vital part of the integrated health care team that works together to get a patient out of pain quickly and permanently, without resorting to surgery and other invasive methods.

Weigners state-of-the-art facility has more than 4,000 square feet of clinical office space and some of the most modern rehabilitation and diagnostic equipment. Services there include chiropractic care, regenerative and physical medicine, rehabilitation services, medical weight loss, anti-aging services, massage and acupuncture. Discover Optimal Healthcare treats a patient with individualized support in four progressive stages by relieving their pain, correcting the pains cause, strengthening the patients body and maintaining their wellness.

Discover Optimal Healthcare has a multi-specialized staff of 18, including Dr. Jason Weigner, DC; Dr. Mary Kashurba, MD; Barry Greenfield and Aubrey Brumanti, physicians assistants; Dr. Anthony Odell, DC; and Dr. Greg Parsons, DC.

According to Weigner, Discover Optimal Healthcare offers non-invasive yet aggressive treatment plans to restore and enhance physical functions and quality of life for all patients. The facility specializes in treating a wide variety of spinal and joint conditions including neck and back pain, headaches, knee and hip pain, sciatica and scoliosis, sports, auto and work injuries, neuropathy, whiplash, Fibromyalgia and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Discover Optimal Healthcare also offers a medical weight-loss program, hair restoration treatments and an anti-aging med spa with Botox and fillers.

Traditional medicine alone cannot compare with the combined knowledge, specialization and care offered by a team of doctors and medical professionals who collaborate and work together in physical and regenerative medicine, Weigner explained. We can get patients back to a pain-free life sooner and keep them healthier longer by fixing their underlying problems so they can start living fully again, rather than just treating their symptom.

As a pioneer in a new, cutting-edge treatment option, Weigner recently introduced stem cell therapy to his patients.

This new therapy option treats arthritis, nagging joint pain, neuropathy, back and neck pain, cartilage and muscle issues and a host of other conditions, repairing and regenerating joints all without the need for painful, invasive surgery, Weigner said excitedly. After even one stem cell treatment, many of our patients experience noticeable relief from the pain that had kept them from living their best life.

Weigner said stem cell therapy has about a 75 to 85 percent success rate if a patient is a candidate for this type of treatment.

The patients who have success with stem cell therapy love the fact that they regain their lives and get out of pain quickly without the risks of invasive surgery and the complications, anesthesia and intensive rehabilitation that come with going the traditional surgical route, Weigner explained.

Weigner said that stem cell regeneration therapy utilizes adult stem cells that are derived from fat and bone marrow harvested along with cryo-preserved umbilical cord stem cells as an additional option for some individuals. This is a non-controversial and non-harmful way to unleash the power of stem cells and gain additional growth factors, he said.

According to an explanation on Weigners website, Human body cells are constantly going through a regenerative and degenerative process. The regenerative cells are derived from stem cells. Stem cells possess the ability to duplicate into other cells. This means that if you have structural or degenerative damage in your knee, stem cells introduced to the area will join with the other knee cells to regenerate or rebuild the damaged area. These cells will streamline the healing process and help patients recover rapidly from serious injuries, without going under the knife. Stem cell therapy is a minimal pain (only the prick of a needle) and completely non-invasive alternative to regular surgery. Stem cell injections are placed in the area of need, using arthroscopic and ultrasound guided monitoring procedures to ensure that stem cells reach the area most in need of regeneration. Simple shots can begin to rebuild the area and return normal function, mobility and comfort levels to the patient.

Weigner said he believes that stem cell therapy is the future of medicine and can help cure everything from plantar fasciitis to deteriorating joints and can even stimulate hair growth. To answer questions and spread the word about stem cell therapy, Weigner offers free community education workshops. He advertises the events on the Discover Optimal Healthcare Facebook page, as well as in local newspapers.

Discover Optimal Healthcare, the winner of Best of Delco awards for three consecutive years, offers free consultations for any condition. Weigner said if his facility cannot help certain patients for various reasons, the team will immediately refer them somewhere else to get the help that they need. The staff at Discover Optimal Healthcare is warm and friendly, he said, and prides itself on treating everyone like family.

We have at over 40 different five-star reviews and testimonials on our website, Weigner said proudly. We treat everyone with respect and compassion, with the same care and motivation to helping them as if they were our family. Our patients tell me again and again what a great team we have here.

Weigner says that he cant help but be enthusiastic over how many patients he has helped with the newest brea-throughs in stem cell therapy.

At Discover Optimal Healthcare, we are pleased to bring hope to the hopeless by offering all of our patients an opportunity to take advantage of, what I think, is the most significant medical breakthrough in natural medicine in this decade, Weigner stated. Theres nothing better than helping patients with this new, alternative therapy to rediscover a life free of pain.

For more information on Discover Optimal Healthcare at 3605 Edgemont Ave., Brookhaven, stem cell therapy or to book a free consultation, call 610-876-6180 or visit http://www.dohealth.net

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Novartis puts the Development of two Anti-Aging Drugs in American Hands – Labiotech.eu (blog)

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PureTech will take on the development of two mTORC1 inhibitors from Novartis aimed at stopping the decline of the immune system associated with age.

Novartis is building up the portfolio of PureTech is a Boston-based healthcare company listed on the London stock market. Originally an investment firm, it now has put together a drug pipeline from its biotech portfolio. Its latest additionsare twodrugs to prevent and treat diseases related toimmunosenescence, an age-related process that reduces the immune systems functions.

PureTech will create a subsidiary, resTORbio, to carry out the development, starting with a Phase IIb trial for age-related immune system deterioration. The US company has allocated 14M ($15M) for the program, giving it a 58% stake that could rise to 67% in the future with an additional 9M ($10M) investment.

For its part, Novartis will get an undisclosed equity stake in the company plus milestonepayments and royalties as the drug advances through development and commercialization. The big Swiss pharma has already run two Phase IIa studies in elderly patients with the two mTORC1 inhibitors.

The immune system progressively loses its function with age, leading to age-related disorders

Novartis already has an mTOR inhibitor in the market, Everolimus, used as an immunosuppressant for organ transplantation and certain forms of cancer. Preclinical research seemed to indicate that this drug could also extend the lifespan and boost the efficacy of vaccines, which led the company to start human trials.

However, despite the promising potential of the candidates, Novartis has decided to trust someone else with developmentand waitto see whether theyre successful in the long term.

The field ofanti-aging,focused on delaying and preventing age-related conditions, is still young and so far it mostly attracts innovative biotech companies rather than traditional pharma. But as medicine advances and the human lifespan increases, Im sure it will start gaining more and more recognition.

Images from Africa Studio /Shutterstock;Dorrington MG and Bowdish DME (2013)Front. Immunol. 4:171.

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Mesothelioma | Overview, Treatment Options and Survivor Stories

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Malignant mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that occurs in the thin layer of cells lining the body's internal organs, known as the mesothelium.

There are three recognized types of mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of the disease, accounting for roughly 70% of cases, and occurs in the lining of the lung known as the pleura. Peritoneal mesothelioma occurs in the lining of the abdominal cavity, known as the peritoneum and pericardial mesothelioma originates in the pericardium, which lines the heart.

An individual may be at risk to develop mesothelioma if he or she was exposed to asbestos in the workplace or at home. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos and the inhalation of asbestos particles. In most cases, mesothelioma symptoms will not appear in an individual exposed to asbestos until many years after the exposure has occurred. Those with a past asbestos exposure history experiencing symptoms should consult a physician with experience in accurately diagnosing mesothelioma. The earlier mesothelioma is diagnosed, the more likely it is to be caught at an early stage. At earlier stages of mesothelioma progression, more treatment options are available and oftentimes a better prognosis is given.

Additional mesothelioma information and statistics can be found in this section. Read stories of hope from mesothelioma surviviors as well.

Once an individual has been diagnosed by a qualified mesothelioma doctor, the next step is to discuss mesothelioma treatment options and to develop a treatment plan. Recent scientific research has produced significant breakthroughs with regard to treatment protocols for mesothelioma patients and more options are now available for managing mesothelioma and supporting improved quality of life. Newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients often have many questions for their doctors about the treatment options that would be most effective for them. Conventional treatment options for mesothelioma include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Recently, chemotherapy drugs including Alimta and Cisplatin have showed promising results in some patients.

Mesothelioma clinical trials as well as experimental treatments are other options that certain mesothelioma patients may be eligible to participate in. Our site features a comprehensive mesothelioma cancer treatment section that includes important information for patients and families. We've included resources on top mesothelioma experts such as Dr. David Sugarbaker and Dr. Raphael Bueno, as well as a comprehensive list of cancer centers where mesothelioma treatment takes place. Beyond the conventional treatments for mesothelioma, certain alternative therapies may provide assistance to mesothelioma patients. Financial assistance is available to help offset mesothelioma treatment costs. We continually update this section of our site as new mesothelioma treatment information becomes available.

In 2006, at the age of 36, Heather Von St. James gave birth to her daughter, Lily Rose. Just three months later, she was diagnosed with mesotheliomastartling news for someone so young. Heather had been exposed to asbestos second-hand as a child when her father would return home from work with his clothing covered in asbestos dust. Heather often wore his coat, and in the process she unwittingly breathed in the fibers. With strong faith, support from a host of family and friends, and a vibrant sense of humor, Heather emerged from a multi-month course of treatment healthy and cancer-free.

Louise Lou Williams was exposed to asbestos as a child in Australia (where her father was exposed through his work), and also during the three years she worked in a contaminated Melbourne office. Her father died of mesothelioma in 1985, and Lou herself was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 2003 following eight years of unexplainable chronic fatigue and a year and a half of being misdiagnosed. After beating that cancer, Lou was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2009. She now continues her personal fight against mesothelioma while at the same time devoting herself to activism.

Paul Kraus

Paul Kraus has lived with peritoneal mesothelioma for nearly two decades. Born into a Nazi labor camp in Austria, he escaped as an infant with his mother and brother and soon emigrated with his family to Australia. Asbestos is prevalent in Australia, and as a result, the country suffers from some of the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world. Mr. Kraus was exposed as a youth on a summer job he took in 1962. The cancer was latent until 1997 at which time he was diagnosed and given just weeks to live.

Stephen Jay Gould

One of the most popular scientific authors of recent times, evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, authored more than 20 books on a variety of scientific subjects, and published hundreds of essays in Natural History magazine. Gould lived for twenty years after being diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1982. After his diagnosis, he wrote an essay, The Median Isnt the Message, about his reaction to the news and to the realization that half of all mesothelioma patients died within eight months of diagnosis. His essay has been cited as a source of comfort and hope by many cancer victims.

Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma cancer. Inhaled or ingested asbestos fibers may cause an inflammation of internal tissue and disrupt organ function which leads to the development of mesothelioma. Asbestos products were used extensively in the 20th century throughout the United States, in a wide variety of applications. Asbestos companies continued to produce these products even after they were known to be hazardous to workers. These products were responsible for asbestos exposure sustained by the individuals who manufactured them as well as those who used them. Renovation and construction both at home and in schools also poses high risk areas for exposure. People also may have been exposed to asbestos-contaminated talc in baby powder

Many workers were put at risk at commercial and industrial locations including refineries, power plants, steel mills, auto production facilities and large construction sites. Some of the occupations of workers at risk include electricians, plumbers, boilermakers, carpenters, mechanics, machinists and more. Additionally, if you lived with someone who was regularly exposed to asbestos and washed their clothes, you could be at risk for second hand asbestos exposure.

Although rare, mesothelioma affects veterans from all branches of service: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. As mesothelioma has a long latency period and can remain dormant for several decades, veterans who served our country from 1930 through 1980 are just now being diagnosed with the disease.

Navy veterans who worked in navy shipyards and or served on our nation's aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers, submarines and warship from WWII through the Vietnam War were exposed to high concentrations of deadly asbestos and are at a high risk for developing asbestos related cancer. Boiler rooms, engine rooms, sleeping quarters, and other areas of naval vessels were the most common areas where asbestos was present. Some prominent shipyards where asbestos was prevalent include Brooklyn Navy Yard, Norfolk Navy Shipyard, Long Beach Naval Shipyard and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Financial assistance and help with VA Benefits is available to veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma.

Asbestos manufacturers and distributors made a concerted effort to hide the dangers of asbestos from the public, while at the same time profiting heavily from the sale and manufacture of harmful asbestos products. Those suffering from Mesothelioma can seek compensation from the manufacturers of asbestos and asbestos-containing products by hiring a competent mesothelioma lawyer.

When deciding whether or not you should pursue your legal rights, you should think about the following three things. First, asbestos manufacturers had knowledge of the dangers of asbestos and knowingly put hardworking men and women at risk. Second, treatment for mesothelioma can be very expensive. Third, by exercising your legal rights, you can protect your loved ones in the future.

Once you make the decision to pursue your rights, a competent asbestos attorney will maximize recovery from both viable and bankrupt asbestos defendants. Over 65 asbestos trusts have been established holding billions of dollars combined across them. These asbestos trust funds have been set aside to help compensate those workers who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer or other asbestos related diseases. The legal process to compensate mesothelioma victims is not overly burdensome and should be strongly considered to help offset treatment costs and to provide financial security for loved ones.

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Mesothelioma Patients Turn to Cannabis – AlterNet

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Photo Credit: The Leaf Online

People have inhaled cannabinoidsfor many generations, from the Scythians through its banby the federal U.S. government, and beyond.

Now we find that patients suffering from mesothelioma cancer can use medicinal marijuana as a means to reduce their troublesome symptoms. Many are beginning to personally explore the helpful aspects of this natural medicine as researchers continue their quest toward a cancer cure.

Mesotheliomaiscancerof the mesothelium, a protective lining found onmost of the bodys internal organs. Three out of every four cases cases of mesothelioma disease begin in the pleural mesothelium of the chest cavity. Mesothelioma can also begin in the abdominal cavity and around theheart.

Some common signs and symptoms of Mesothelioma include coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, weight loss and poor respiratory function. Most early-stage patients are not aware that they are carrying the cancer or have developed Mesothelioma because its symptoms overlap with many other health conditions.

Increasing appetite

According to theAmerican Cancer Society, marijuana improves a cancer patients appetite. Although the cellular function is still vague, this plant seems to trigger neurons that deal with taste and hunger.

Mesothelioma and other cancer patients need to eat during their treatment because the nutrients boost their fight against the ailment. However, treatment procedures typically cause nausea and a strong feeling to avoid food. Medicinal cannabis can be the answer to an upset stomach.

Reducing overall pain

Some cancer patients report a lot of pain in their bodies both during and after chemotherapy. Pain is incredibly debilitating, and it can have ill effects on a patients prognosis. Cannabis is known to dull the pain in the body, which helps anypatient with cancer. Researchers believe that the plant works at the cellular level to block pain signals across the axons. Depending on the cannabiss potency, a patient can feel relaxed for an hour or more with just a little bit of the plant in the body system.

Lifting the mood

When a person fights cancer, a negative mindset can be detrimental to the treatment. Cannabis is known to lift the spirits of anyone taking the substance. The subsequent high allows the person to feel good for an hour or longer. If the person continues to take the substance, this high and positive feeling can be extended. Good moods benefit the person so that they can fight off any more cancer tumors.

Possible ailment relief

TheNational Cancer Institutereports that laboratory test results reflect the direct relationship between declining cancer cells and cannabis use. Although more studies must be conducted, its possible that patients might have some cure to their ailment through this common weed. Patients simply need to inhale or consume the substance in order to see these possible results. Researchers are still concluding whether smoking or eating the cannabis is the best choice. The body must metabolize the substance in different ways, and its possible that eating or smoking it is better or worse for a condition.

Although the federal government still deems this plant as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, many states have medicinal laws that override this rule.Cancer patientsmay want to explore their options with this medicine in order to ease their symptoms. Dealing with cancer is difficult, but it can be tolerable with a natural substance offered through legal pathways.

You can contactVirgil Anderson at[emailprotected]

Virgil Anderson is a mesothelioma patient who blogs about his battle with the disease.

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Mesothelioma Patients Turn to Cannabis - AlterNet

Understanding Mesothelioma Caregiver Styles – Asbestos.com (blog)

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As my fathers caregiver, Mom had a way that was all her own.

She was attentive and loving, while still supporting his independence. She never patronized him and always expressed desire to attend to his needs.

Mom always made caregiving look easy, but I know how difficult it is to care for someone who has advanced mesothelioma. She had a natural skill for taking care of Dad.

She learned how to be a caregiver through experience. Mom never went to medical school or worked in the medical field. She was a homemaker who loved her husband and children.

Her style of caregiving seemed instinctual she just knew what to do when Dad got sick. I never understood how until I studied psychology.

Doctors study medicine for years to develop their style of practice. They develop a sense of responsibility for their patients, and that helps define their style.

Being a family caregiver is a more personal experience than providing medical care for a random patient. They have a love for family and an inner desire to care for their loved ones.

If a physician develops a style through education, experience and their personality, one might wonder what makes up a caregivers style. Most caregivers dont have formal training that teaches them how to interact with their loved one.

Perhaps family caregivers style is more natural more intrinsic than a doctors learned behaviors.

While researching John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworths attachment theory, I came across an article that explores the significance of attachment styles in caregiving.

Attachment styles are bonds developed during infancy and early childhood through infant and caretaker relationships. This type of bonding serves as a model for future relationships in adult life.

In essence, attachment styles influence how we treat others and how we expect others to treat us.

Most people in the developmental psychology community recognize several styles of attachment, including secure, avoidant and resistant. These childhood bonds may have implications in how caregivers will care for a sick loved one later in life.

Our caregiver style is linked to who we are as a person and how we relate to others.

However, a persons caregiving style doesnt fit neatly into any one category. Rather, the styles represent behavioral tendencies that exist on a more fluid spectrum.

We all have days where we are better equipped to provide for the needs of others and face other times when we could use a little help.

Many caregivers fall somewhere within these styles:

Just as a childs behavior might fluctuate depending on outside influences, so does the behavior of a caregiver.

Stress plays a significant role in caregiver responses. The important thing to remember is communication. Sometimes our loved one might need us to be more attentive. Other times, they might be focused more on maintaining independence.

As caregivers, we need to be flexible and sensitive to their needs.

No one is perfect, not even medical professionals. Our loved ones recognize us as human beings who are providing care from the heart.

Very few family caregivers have professional medical training. They learn from on-the-job experience. They provide care not with precision medical skills, but with their hearts.

Perhaps author Kahlil Gibran captures the spirit of a caregiver best when he writes, You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

Caregivers reserve the best of themselves for those they love. There is not a more rewarding relationship than one deepened through caregiving.

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Understanding Mesothelioma Caregiver Styles - Asbestos.com (blog)

Mesothelioma Survival Rates Slowly Improving – Mesothelioma.net Blog (blog)

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One of the most stressful aspects of living with mesothelioma is the fact that the condition carries such a grim prognosis: whether you have been diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma, or the even rarer forms that impact the heart or testicles, most physicians will indicate that the survival rate for the disease is little more than on year. But according to recent reporting by the University of Maryland Medical Centerfollowing a 2016 study, improvements in interventions and treatments have provided an overall median survival rate of almost 3 years. Though this is still a critical diagnosis, it also represents a dramatic improvement for those who have been diagnosed with this disease.

The report followed 73 pleural mesothelioma patients who were treated using a variety of protocols. All of them had surgery to debulk and remove the cancerous tumors, and each was then treated with photodynamic therapy, an innovative treatment approach that uses light and a light-sensitized drug to provide more extensive treatment of cancer cells that remain. Following these two protocols, 92% of patients also received chemotherapy.

This multimodality approach yielded remarkable results. As compared to patients who only had chemotherapy and only lived for 12 to 18 months following treatment, those who receivedall three treatments lived an average of 35 months, and those whose mesothelioma had not yet spread to their lymph nodes lived nearly twice that long.

In addition to this information, other updates in survival and treatment options are revealing growing understanding of the condition. According to a 2015 study published in the Journal of Cardiothoracic, a recent study found that patient survival could reliably be predicted based upon the mesothelioma tumor volume. A study published in theAnnals of Thoracic Surgery revealed a remarkable difference in survival rates betweenwomen and men with mesothelioma, with male patients having a 4.5% survival rate compares to 13.4% in women.

Overall, mesothelioma physicians and advocates are encouraged by the improvements that are being made in patient survival through expanded treatment options, but also feel that the science has a long way to go. For those who are living with mesothelioma on a daily basis, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can provide you with updates on available treatments as well as other resources that may help you in your journey. Contact us today at1-800-692-8608.

Terri Oppenheimer is an independent writer, editor and proofreader. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in English. Her dreams of a writing career were diverted by a need to pay her bills. She spent a few years providing copy for a major retailer, then landed a lucrative career in advertising sales. With college bills for all three of her kids paid, she left corporate America for a return to her original goal of writing. She specializes in providing content for websites and finds tremendous enjoyment in the things she learns while doing her research. Her specific areas of interest include health and fitness, medical research, and the law.

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Veterans with Mesothelioma Benefit from Telephone Triage – Asbestos.com

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U.S. military veterans with malignant pleural mesothelioma can rely on the VA Boston Healthcare Systems national phone triage for improved access to specialized surgical advice and better treatment recommendations, according to a retrospective study.

Thoracic surgeons Drs. Abraham Lebenthal and Jeff Siegert helped establish the open access telephone triage in 2011, shortening the average time between a veterans initial phone screen and face-to-face surgical consultation to 14 days.

Many veterans facing a potential diagnosis of mesothelioma must navigate the historically mismanaged federal agency to get the treatment they need. Because of difficulties reaching a specialized doctor at the VA, they often settle for less than optimal care, which may lead to shorter survival.

Lebenthal and Siegert hope the telephone triage program will change that.

Open access phone triage for veterans with MPM is possible, enabling timely specialized evidence-based care national, the study shows. We demonstrated that in a federal system, a multidisciplinary team of experts can be assembled and motivated to deliver quaternary centralized care that is typically possible only in a handful of elite teaching hospitals.

Veterans typically are seen first at their local VA health care facility or at an out-of-network medical center. If they suspect pleural mesothelioma is the problem, they can start the process.

The typical telephone triage follows these steps:

The entire telephone triage process, from the veterans first call to the Boston VA final diagnosis, takes an average of 14 days.

The study included 60 U.S. military veterans all men from 26 states who had called the telephone triage for treatment advice about malignant pleural mesothelioma. A dozen more men had called, but they were excluded from the study because they were not U.S. veterans.

All these veterans had already received initial treatment recommendations from their local tumor boards.

After researchers and doctors in Boston gathered and reviewed local test results and confirmed mesothelioma diagnosis, 38 of these veterans traveled to the Boston VA hospital for additional tests.

Once there, treatment recommendations from the Boston VA doctors varied greatly from what the local tumor boards initially suggested.

For example, the local tumor boards suggested 21 patients receive only chemotherapy, but the Boston VA determined only four patients needed that treatment.

Another four patients were initially recommended multimodal therapy, a successful treatment using combinations of radiation, chemotherapy or surgery. But the Boston VA doctors said 29 patients who called the phone triage would benefit from that type of treatment.

Additional tests showed four patients initially diagnosed with the disease didnt even have mesothelioma.

One surprising thing from this study is that we were able to move veterans around the country within the VA system pretty effectively, Siegert said. And for a heckuva lot less money than if you werent a veteran. We used the system already in place, and it worked.

The Boston VA shares staff and facilities with the nearby Brigham and Womens Hospital, which is an elite, multidisciplinary center for mesothelioma patients.

The VA health care system pays for the travel, which is considerably less expensive than sending the patient to a local out-of-network facility. The Boston VA has complimentary housing for its out-of-town patients and families.

By doing everything here, we can bypass a lot of the things that would happen so slowly in the system normally, Siegert said. If a patient gets a first whiff that it could be mesothelioma, we can abbreviate the time vastly, and that pays off for the veteran.

Although the definitive diagnosis, aggressive surgery and aftercare for mesothelioma takes extra staff, effort and knowledge, the Boston VA can simplify the process with its resources already in place at Brigham.

Mesothelioma is a disease so much different than any other, Siegert said. The treatment is so specialized. It requires so much work just to diagnose it, let alone treat it. You cant expect these other facilities to have all that.

One surprising aspect of the study was the nontraditional referral of the patients.

Only 24 percent were referred by a medical provider. The majority used internet resources, such as Asbestos.com, or they were self-referred.

As a physician, I had always gotten patients the old-fashioned way, from other doctors, he said. But thats not the algorithm anymore. Not for this disease.

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