In Mice, Alzheimer's-Linked Protein Shows Promise Against MS

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Stem Cells Show Promise as Heart Failure Treatment

HealthDay – 1 hr 40 mins ago MONDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists who used modified stem cells to rejuvenate damaged and aged heart cells from elderly heart failure patients say their research could one day lead to new treatments for the illness.

"Since patients with heart failure are normally elderly, their cardiac stem cells aren't very healthy," Sadia Mohsin, one of the study authors and a postdoctoral research scholar at San Diego State University's Heart Institute, explained in a news release from the American Heart Association (AHA). "We modified these biopsied stem cells and made them healthier. It is like turning back the clock so these cells can thrive again."

The study was to be presented Monday at an AHA meeting, in New Orleans, and published simultaneously in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The stem cells taken from the patients were modified with a protein called PIM-1, which promotes cells survival and growth. The modified stem cells helped the signaling and structure of the patients' heart cells by boosting the activity of an enzyme called telomerase, which elongates telomeres.

Telomeres are the caps on the ends of chromosomes that are involved in cell replication. Aging and disease occur when telomeres break off.

"There is no doubt that stem cells can be used to counter the aging process of cardiac cells caused by telomere degradation," Mohsin said.

While the study did use human heart cells, it was conducted in the laboratory and remains in its early stages. However, tests conducted in mice and pigs also found that telomere lengthening resulted in new heart tissue growth in just four weeks.

"Modifying aged human cardiac cells from elderly patients adds to the cell's ability to regenerate damaged heart muscle, making stem cell engineering a viable option," Mohsin said. "This is an especially exciting finding for heart failure patients. Right now we can only offer medication, heart transplantation or stem cell therapies with modest regenerative potential, but PIM-1 modification offers a significant advance for clinical treatment."

One expert called the research "exciting."

The stem cell technique "is enabling endogenous

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London 2012 breaks promise to get Britons active

Britons may be watching lots of Olympic athletes this summer but they sure aren't moving more themselves.

When London was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics seven years ago, officials promised they would get 2 million more people physically active in time for the opening ceremonies.

But when the torch is lit July 27, the government will not only have failed, it will have backed away from its pledge entirely. Last year, the U.K. quietly dropped its aim to get 1 million more Britons into sports; the pledge to get another 1 million people more active through things like biking or walking to work has also been scrapped.

Britain's strategy was based largely on providing free school sports programs for children. While numbers grew in the first few years, they have since flat lined, according to national surveys. As the government cut spending amid Europe's debt crisis, it also slashed sports programs for adults, including free swimming for Londoners.

With a population of about 60 million, Britain is western Europe's fattest country. Soccer is wildly popular, but Britons are more likely to cheer on their favorite teams from the local pub rather than emulating them on the pitch.

Olympics secretary Jeremy Hunt said the government was looking for other ways to measure people's activity levels and insisted it was still working with local sports clubs to boost participation. A government spokesman called the original target "arbitrary."

"The Olympics do inspire people, but there is no evidence there are increased physical activity levels afterwards," said Bill Kohl, director of the physical activity epidemiology program at the University of Texas School of Public Health. "Most people realize they will never be (track star) Usain Bolt."

On Wednesday, Kohl authored a paper that labeled low levels of physical activity worldwide a "pandemic." It was published in the Lancet medical journal as part of a series on physical activity.

Another study concluded being a couch potato was as potentially lethal as smoking or being obese. Researchers estimated that a lack of physical activity causes about 1 in 10 deaths worldwide and is responsible for about 7 percent of type 2 diabetes cases and 10 percent of breast cancer and colon cancer cases.

"For the individual, it is certainly more dangerous to smoke than to be physically inactive," Kohl said. "But on a population level, the impact of physical inactivity is equal to smoking."

Critics have slammed London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe for his failure to deliver on organizers' physical activity pledge.

"We are way off target," said Mike Weed, director of the Centre for Sport, Physical Education and Activity Research at Canterbury Christ Church University. Based on current numbers, he said the promise to get 2 million more people active wouldn't happen until about 2035.

No host country of the Olympics has ever been able to convert enthusiasm for the games into a sporty population.

Weed said elite Olympians weren't the best role models for average Britons and cited a much less athletic example: chunky London mayor Boris Johnson, who has introduced a popular bike rental system in the British capital.

"If you see somebody in Lycra at the Olympics on a 10,000-pound ($15,600) bike, that says this is not for you," Weed said. "But if you see Boris Johnson in a suit riding along on an obviously unsporty bike, the message is that if he can do it, anyone can."

___

Online:

www.lancet.com

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Alzheimer's Treatment Shows Promise in Small, 3-Year Trial

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Gel Shows Promise as Future Male Contraceptive

HealthDay – 8 mins ago MONDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- Men may one day have a birth-control option other than the condom or vasectomy -- if early research on a new contraceptive gel pans out.

Preliminary findings suggest that when applied to the skin, the gel dramatically lowers sperm counts, thus also lowering -- though not eliminating -- the risk for pregnancy.

This is the first time that a combination of testosterone and a synthetic progestin called Nestorone has been tested as a gel that could be applied topically. Previous research involved administering the combination by injection or via a patch, said study senior author Dr. Christina Wang, a professor of medicine at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute.

The combination contraceptive needs to undergo further testing before it is commercially available.

Although men have sometimes received a bad rap for not being willing to assume responsibility for birth control, Dr. Joseph Alukal, an assistant professor of urology at NYU Langone Medical Center, in New York City, thinks this reputation may be somewhat undeserved.

"I think

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Gel Shows Promise as Future Male Contraceptive

HealthDay – 7 mins ago MONDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- Men may one day have a birth-control option other than the condom or vasectomy -- if early research on a new contraceptive gel pans out.

Preliminary findings suggest that when applied to the skin, the gel dramatically lowers sperm counts, thus also lowering -- though not eliminating -- the risk for pregnancy.

This is the first time that a combination of testosterone and a synthetic progestin called Nestorone has been tested as a gel that could be applied topically. Previous research involved administering the combination by injection or via a patch, said study senior author Dr. Christina Wang, a professor of medicine at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute.

The combination contraceptive needs to undergo further testing before it is commercially available.

Although men have sometimes received a bad rap for not being willing to assume responsibility for birth control, Dr. Joseph Alukal, an assistant professor of urology at NYU Langone Medical Center, in New York City, thinks this reputation may be somewhat undeserved.

"I think

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In Rat Study, Eye Device Shows Promise for Restoring Sight

HealthDay – 1 hr 38 mins ago SUNDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) -- A new type of artificial eye system could one day restore sight to people who have lost their vision due to degenerative eye diseases such as macular degeneration, according to the results of research with rats.

The system uses tiny solar panel-like cells that are surgically placed beneath the retina, along with a specially designed pair of goggles equipped with a miniature camera, and a pocket PC that processes the visual data, the Stanford University School of Medicine team explained.

Visual images are displayed on a liquid crystal microdisplay embedded in the goggles, similar to what's used in video goggles for gaming. The images are beamed from the liquid crystal display to the cells implanted in the retina, which then sends the images to the brain.

The research is published online May 13 in the journal Nature Photonics.

"It works like the solar panels on your roof, converting light into electric current. But instead of the current flowing to your refrigerator, it flows into your retina," senior study author Daniel Palanker, an associate professor of ophthalmology, said in a Stanford news release.

The scientists are currently testing the system in rats and are seeking a sponsor to support tests in humans. Research that seems promising in animal studies often fails to offer similar benefits to humans.

The researchers hope their system can eventually help people with retinal degenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in North America and about 1.5 million people worldwide have lost their sight due to retinitis pigmentosa, according to the nonprofit group Foundation Fighting Blindness.

More information

The U.S. National Eye Institute has more about age-related macular degeneration.

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New cancer drug delivery system shows promise

"A new method of delivering cancer drugs that could cut down on chemotherapy's side effects and boost the strength of the tumor-fighting medicine has shown promise, US researchers said Wednesday. (AFP Photo/Anne-Christine Poujoulat)" title

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'Freezing' Secondary Breast Cancer Tumors Shows Promise

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