Cell Phones and Cancer Risk

Precaution is better than cure 

There seems to be clear evidence showing that cell phone radiation is linked to cancers based on Draft technical reports on cell phones and health concern released by the The National Toxicology Program(NTP).

Cell phones are known to emit a form of non-ionizing radiation (radiofrequency energy), from their antennas. Tissues nearest to the antenna can absorb this energy. It is known that ionizing radiation such as x-rays can increase cancer risk but there has not been substantial  nor consistent evidence to show that non-ionizing radiation has a similar effect.

The NTP (The National Toxicology Program (NTP) Chronic Carcinogenicity Studies of Cell Phone Radiofrequency Radiation) recently  released its Draft Technical Reports Peer Review on cell phones and health concerns based on 10 years of research.  

Highlights of the report as summarized by experts:

 1. Exposure to cell phone radiation led to an increase in certain types of tumors in the brain (gliomas) and the heart (schwannomas). 

2. There was an increase in tumors found in the adrenals, prostate, pancreas, pituitary, and liver.

3. There was an increase in glial cell hyperplasia of the brain, which is a precursor or precancerous state to the type of brain cancer – malignant glioma. 

4. Damage to DNA was found in both rats and mice involved in the study. DNA damage to the hippocampus (memory center) of the brain was identified in the male animals. 

5. There were heart changes or cardiomyopathy identified in male rats.

6. Exposure during pregnancy affected the rat pups with lower survival rates and lower birth weights. 

7.Male animals had an increased incidence of benign heart, brain, and prostate tumors. 

8. Female animals had an increased incidence of benign brain tumors.

Undoubtedly, more research is needed to validate these findings, it however is important that these pointers help raise some awareness on the risks faced with the use of this devices and help individuals and families take the necessary precautions with the hope of avoiding months or years of tending to a sick loved one in the hospital.

Experts recommend reducing and maintaining a distance from the device, especially with children. Avoid sleeping with your phone close to your head. Use speakers, wired headsets and keep the phone away from your body. Unplug your wireless routers at night or use other wired technology. Consider the use electromagnetic radiation protective clothing, bedding and devices if possible.

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NOT IN VAIN! The Ice Bucket Challenge

Medic-ALL (08:21:2015) MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS

About this time last year, a whole lot of people from all works of life voluntarily bathed with ice-containing buckets in what was popularly known as the "Ice Bucket Challenge" all in  a bid to raise awareness and money for research the medical condition Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis A-L-S , also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. A year and over $220 million donations later we have dividends to show.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins , who took the challenge themselves and got soaked, say they've made a major breakthrough in A-L-S research, and they credit it largely to the massive influx of public interest and the funds raised through the movement.

Jonathan Ling and Philip Wong, researchers at John Hopkins say they have discovered how a brain protein called TDP-43 linked to A-L-S works and with it, have developed a potential treatment for the disease.

About a decade ago, researchers discovered people with A-L-S often had clumps of TDP-43 protein outside the nucleus of their brain cells. But it was unknown whether it was the cause or the result of the degenerative disease.

In experiments using mice, they made a protein to mimic TDP-43 and put it into the nerve cells, or neurons.The cells came back to life, indicating the protein problem is at least part of the reason the nervous system slowly dies off in A-L-S. This sparked interest that the treatment could be used to slow down or halt the progression of the condition. The team of researchers at Hopkins already have funding to put their protein into human trials, all because so many people were willing to get wet.

 In spite of the the overwhelming rave on social media about the disease, thanks to the "Ice Bucket Challenge", A-L-S is a relatively rare disease , with about 7000 deaths in the United States  from the disease each year. According to the ALS Asssociation website, about 15 people are newly diagnosed of the disease on  daily basis  and more than 5,600 yearly. It was partly surprising to find hundreds of celebrities, politicians and personalities "gladly" get caught up (and drenched) for the cause. The campaign helped the ALS association raise $115 million last year.

The average life expectancy in persons  with ALS is two to five years from the time of diagnosis.  However, with recent advances in research and improved medical care, many patients are living longer and with more productive lives. Half of all those affected live at least three years or more after diagnosis.  About 20 percent live five years or more, and up to ten percent will survive more than ten years. 

Ref: abcnews, BostonGlobe, ALS Association

See also ALS and the Ice Bucket Challenge

 Medic-ALL.Inc 2015!.

New Virus discovered in the U.S!

Medic-ALL (02:21:2015) DISEASE

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC said on Friday, February 20 that the mysterious death of a man in Kansas, U.S last year appears to have been caused by a previously unknown virus.

Naming it the Bourbon virus after the county where the man had lived, researchers from the CDC, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and the University of Kansas classified the agent as a new member of the Thogotovirus genus, others of which are known to cause human disease.

The middle aged man had presented in the late spring of 2014 with fever and fatigue. Laboratory examinations revealed thrombocytopenia (low level of platelets) and leukopenia( low level of white blood cells). He reported numerous tick bites in the days prior to falling ill. He was consequently treated with doxycycline, but there was no improvement and he shortly developed multi-organ failure, dying of cardiopulmonary arrest 11 days after symptom onset.

His blood was tested for known tickborne diseases ( Lyme's , Rocky Mountain spotted Fever) but these were negative. However, the investigators reported, "testing of a specimen for antibodies against Heartland virus indicated the presence of another virus."

Electron microscopy revealed virus particles unlike those of known tickborne pathogens in the U.S.; the research team classified them as within the Orthomyxoviridae family, and with further study as a previously unknown Thogotovirus.

The researchers indicated that they would now look to see if Bourbon virus has been present in other human infections. They also plan to "explore its potential geographic distribution and confirm tick as been the vectors.

The discoveries of Bourbon virus, Heartland virus, and similar tickborne diseases in recent years "suggest that the public health burden of these pathogens has been underestimated," the researchers concluded.

Via Mepage Today
Edited by Kayode Kuku for Medic-ALL blog 

Medic-ALL Inc 2015

Medical Miracle: First Womb Transplant Baby Born

Medic-ALL (07:10:2014)

The first ever baby to be born via a transplanted womb was delivered in September to a 36 year Swedish woman who was born without a womb and received a womb transplant from a friend in her early-60s. The British Medical Journal "The Lancet" reported that the baby was born prematurely last month weighing 1.8kg (3.9lb).

The woman received her womb from a 61-year-old family friend. As the recipient had intact ovaries, she was able to produce eggs, which were then fertilized using IVF prior to the transplant.

Absolute uterine factor infertility is considered the only form of female infertility which remains untreatable. This condition is often consequence of "Rokitansky syndrome" a condition in which a female is born without a uterus (womb). Cancer treatment is another scenario in which a woman can be left without a functioning womb. Adoption and surrogacy have proved the best options for such women in the past to have children. However, this news of a woman with Rokitansky syndrome giving birth to a baby following a womb transplant brings hope to women with absolute uterine factor infertility.

The researchers from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden who performed the transplant have been investigating the viability of womb transplantation for over ten years, conducting trials on rodents and non-human primates before attempting the procedure in humans.

The Swedish couplent through sessions of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to produce 11 embryos which were frozen. Doctors at the University of Gothenburg them performed the transplant. The donor was a 61 year old family friend who had gone through menopause seven years earlier. One year following the transplant, one of the embryos was transferred into the transplanted womb and pregnancy ensued.

The baby was born prematurely after 32 weeks via caesarean section after the mother developed preeclampsia (a condition associated with raised blood pressure in pregancy) and the baby's heart rate was discovered to be abnormal. The neonate was discharged from the neonatal unit 10 days after birth and reports reveal that both the baby and mother are doing well.

The transplant team was led by Prof. Mats Brannstrom who described the birth in Sweden as "joyous". While he continues to work with other couples with similar needs, the happy Swedish couple still celebrating the birth of their "miracle baby boy" will soon have to decide if they want a second.

Medic-ALL.Inc 2014

Ref: Medical News Today
      : BBC
     

Journal: Nigerian Medical Students; Underappreciated and Underutilized Research Resource

By Rober. H. Glew (Highland Medical Research Journal) 
Having taught biochemistry to medical students in the U.S and Nigeria for three decades, I have been fascinated by the many contrasts that differentiate the education and training these students receive in the two countries. One of the most glaring and interesting distinctions between undergraduate medical education in the U.S. and Nigeria has to do with the extent or lack thereof to which Nigerian and American medical students become engaged in biomedical research while they are in medical school. The percentage of medical students in the U.S. who are involved to a significant degree in research certainly varies considerably across the 140 or so allopathic and osteopathic schools of medicine. 

Nevertheless, regardless of whether research is a required or voluntary activity, at most U.S. medical schools at least one-third and as many as one hundred percent of the student body participates significantly in research of one sort or another, be it epidemiology/population-based or laboratory-centered. At the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, for example, even before the requirement that students do a research project was put in place about 12 years ago, 30-40% of the medical students elected to engage in research under the tutelage of a faculty research mentor in one of the clinical or basic science departments. 

In contrast, however, based on what I have observed first-hand from having taught medical students and done research at a number of teaching hospitals in different regions of Nigeria over the past 30 years, I cannot recall a single instance in which a Nigerian medical student ever involved himself or herself in a collaborative research project with a faculty member in any serious manner during the six years they were in training.

Continue Journal Article HERE

Cell Phone Addiction: A Trend on the Rise

Medic-ALL (01:09:2014) Featured post:

The word "addiction" is commonly associated with alcohol and drugs, but new studies by researchers in Baylor University, Texas, U.S.A suggests a new form of dependence is becoming of increasing concern- cell phone addiction. The researchers say addiction to cellphones has become a “realistic possibility” in response to data finding female college students spend an average of 10 hours per day on their electronic devices, and men spending nearly eight.

A Baylor University study on cellphone activity published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictionsfinds that approximately 60 percent of college students admit they may be addicted to their phone. Many respondents said they feel agitated when it’s not in their sight and feel their cellphone is “both freeing and enslaving at the same time.”

“That’s astounding,” said researcher James Roberts, Ph.D., The Ben H. Williams Professor of Marketing in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business. “As cellphone functions increase, addictions to this seemingly indispensable piece of technology become an increasingly realistic possibility.”

The Baylor study conducted from surveying 164 college students and examining 24 cellphone activities and measuring time spent on the devices. Pinterest and Instagram apps were specifically associated with addiction to one’s phone. Respondents overall reported spending the most significant portion of their time texting, with that taking up an average of 94.6 minutes each day. Emails were second at 48.5 minutes, Facebook at 38.6 minutes, browsing the Internet at 34.4 minutes and iPod usage at 26.9 minutes on average each day.

Study participants responded to questions such as: “I get agitated when my cellphone is not in sight” and “I find that I am spending more and more time on my cellphone” to measure the intensity of their addiction.

Men were found to spend less time on their phones than women but the study notes males “are not immune to the allure of social media.”

The study notes instances of cellphone use disrupting classrooms and cheating some face-to-face interaction.

“Cellphones may wind up being an escape mechanism from their classrooms. For some, cellphones in class may provide a way to cheat,” Roberts said. “We need to identify the activities that push cellphone use from being a helpful tool to one that undermines our well-being and that of others.”

Sources: CBS Houston, Medical News Today

Ebola: A Cure in Sight?

Medic-ALL (Thursday 07:08:2014):

With Ebola cases on the rise in Africa, health experts continue to work tirelessly to find a possible vaccine or in fact a cure to the deadly virus.

                     Ebola virus under the microscope

What We Know

We know that the Ebola virus is a threadlike filovirus that has five different known types. Ebola is able to make copies of itself in the body using a genetic material called the RNA. Inside the body, it causes hemorrhagic symptoms; spreads through bodily fluids such as blood, waste and semen and attacks white blood cells, stalwarts of the immune system, and the platelets that allow blood to clot causes direct and indirect tissue damage—direct because it attacks cells in the liver and indirect through the body’s inflammatory immune response.

At the moment

The FDA is yet to approve any licensed treatment or vaccine for the Ebola virus. So far hospital treatment is based on giving patients intravenous fluids to stop dehydration and antibiotics to fight infections. Strict medical infection control and rapid burial are regarded as the best means of prevention.

How far or How Close ???

Several experimental treatments for Ebola are being developed, which have shown promising results in monkeys when given up to five days after infection. 

An experimental treatment, called Zmapp, has being used for the two U.S aid workers  with "apparently encouraging" signs in one of them, according to reports. The treatment is a mixture of three monoclonal antibodies against the Ebola virus.

Another experimental drug, developed by the Tekmira Pharmaceuticals in Canada, has been tested on monkeys and in a handful of healthy human volunteers. The drug, TKM-Ebola, is designed to target the strands of the genetic material of the virus (RNA) and similarly a US-based pharmeaceutical company, Sarepta Therapeutics, has developed a similar RNA treatment, this however  has been tested in healthy human volunteers in early safety trials, but has never been tried in a human patient.

 Also....

There have being reports regarding the use of serum (the part of the blood that contains antibodies) - which has been used in past Ebola outbreaks. Survivors have high levels of antibodies against the virus in their blood. In one outbreak in 1995 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, seven out of eight patients survived after being treated with serum from survivors, according to a NIHR (National Institute of Health and Defence Threat Reduction Agency) Professor. Reports suggest that the US aid workers who developed Ebola may have been given serum before being flown home from Africa.

As the use of experimental treatments continue to raise ethical dilemmas, the World Health Organization (WHO) is convening a panel of medical ethicists to explore the use of experimental treatments, all in a bid to bring an end to this menace of a virus.

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Ref: BBC, NIHR