Aurora magazine

Alliance Against Cancer (ACC) is a new working group coordinated by the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital. Its purpose is to find new ways to use cancer immunotherapy to fight cancer almost as an infection.

Immunotherapy consists of training the patient's immune system to affect only cancer cells. Unfortunately, the approach is not effective on all patients. Scientists from the Baby Jesus Working Group look for biomarkers to identify individuals who could benefit from it. In this way you avoid exposing people to treatments that are useless and possibly harmful.

At the head of the ACC is Professor Concetta Quintarelli, head of the Laboratory of Gene Therapy of the Bambino Gesù Hospital. The main activity will be not only to identify the non-responsive individuals right away, but also to find a way to make them responsive. To this end, researchers will develop new combined therapies.

Cancer cells are often invisible to the immune system. In cancer immunotherapy, the patient receives reagents that target antibodies and immunoglobulins against the tumor. These substances act as a bridge between the immune system and the cancer cells, allowing only the latter to be destroyed. In some cases, however, some T lymphocytes of the patient are genetically modified for this purpose. Once revived, the modified lymphocytes train the immune system to recognize and hit the tumor.

Oncological immunotherapy is a highly innovative approach in the context of solid tumors. For the moment, the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital is the only Italian facility to offer such therapies. Alliance Against Cancer will help to extend these methodologies to other types of cancer. The goal is to create more specific and tailor-made treatments for the patient.

Source: osservatoriomalattierare.it

Women who suffer from sleep disorders and insomnia are more likely to have infertility problems. This was revealed by a study led by Dr. I-Duo Wang of the Tri-Service General Hospital and National Defense Medical Center in Taipei.

Previous studies had found a link between sleep apnea and infertility. The study in question focused only on women with other sleep disorders. He thus offered new evidence on the link between sleep and female fertility. According to the authors, women looking for a child should go to bed early and leave the phone in another room. Eating well and exercising regularly helps to improve your chances of conceiving.

For the study, the researchers examined data from approximately 16,718 women with sleep disorders, collected between 2000 and 2010 in Taiwan. The control group included 33,436 instead of these problems. The median age in both groups was 35 and women were aged between 20 and 45.

The scholars have followed the women for about 5 years. In this period, 29 women with sleep disorders had developed infertility problems, compared to 34 in the control group. Taking into account factors such as age, women in the first group were 3.7 times more vulnerable to infertility problems.

Women with sleep disorders not only had more fertility problems, but also showed a number of chronic health problems. These included high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lung problems, kidney disease. They also showed a more irregular menstrual cycle, depression, anxiety and thyroid problems.

The exact link between insomnia and infertility is still unclear. In any case, the study suggests a link, highlighting how it is necessary to tackle the problem if it occurs.

Source: reuters.com

Professor Sarah Tabrizi of the University of London announced the first positive results in the fight against Huntington's disease. Phase 1 of trials for a new drug was successful. Treatment has slowed the progression of the genetic disease, offering for the first time a concrete hope. In fact, current treatments only allow the symptoms to be mitigated, but they do not affect the disease itself.

The drug is composed of a strip of synthetic DNA, adaptable also to other neurodegenerative diseases. The approach could therefore offer hope also against Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. For the time being, however, the results only concern Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease is caused by an inherited genetic variation. The defective gene gives instructions to produce a toxic protein, copied from messenger molecules and spread in the brain. The drug is called Ionis-HTTRx and intercepts the molecules, destroying them before the protein spreads. The administration involves an injection directly into the fluid surrounding the spinal cord. In this way the drug reaches the brain and does not disperse.

Phase 1 of the trial involved 46 women and men in the early stages of the disease. The doctors injected four doses of the drug half a month away from each other. With each injection, they increased the dosage. The other half received a placebo. Subjects who received the drug showed a decrease in protein levels.
Although the results are positive and bode well, a broader study will be needed to confirm them.

Source: theguardian.com

The new CERN MEDICIS facility has produced radioisotopes for medical research for the first time. The goal was to provide a wide range of radioisotopes, some of which can only be produced by CERN itself. Radioisotopes will primarily be used in hospitals and research centers in Switzerland and Europe. The doctors will use them for diagnostic purposes and for cancer treatments.

Radioisotopes are used in precision medicine to diagnose tumors and heart disease. They also serve to direct small amounts of radiation exactly where needed. In this way the tumor is hit and very little healthy tissue is touched. CERN MEDICIS has created special types of radioisotopes, thus expanding the number of applications.

Radioisotopes are defined as naturally radioactive isotopes. Some types are found everywhere in minimal quantities, while others do not exist in nature. To obtain the latter it is necessary to use a particle accelerator. MEDICIS researchers used a proton beam present at ISOLDE, a CERN laboratory. They thus obtained Terbium 155Tb, a promising radioisotope for the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

The scientific community extensively uses radioisotopes, but many of these are not the best for their intended purpose. MEDICIS aims to create radioisotopes tailored to the various needs, so as to improve diagnostics and therapies. Once the radioisotopes have been extracted, the researchers attach them to a molecule so that it binds to the tumor. This makes them injectable in the area affected by the tumor, without affecting other parts of the body.

Source: phys.org