Aurora magazine

Male infertility is related to dysfunctions in different organs and tissues, which can not always be identified with certainty. Some of these are permanent, but others are manageable with lifestyle changes. The main causes are pre-testicular, testicular and post-testicular.

Pre-testicular causes are related to hormones that regulate testicular functions. The most common causes are the functioning of the pituitary gland, a fundamental endocrine gland for spermatogenesis. In some cases the gland does not produce enough FSH, the hormone that regulates the production of spermatozoa. By placing the testicles in optimum conditions, fertility should also be restored.

Testicular causes are the most common and concern the very structure of the testes. In the case of cryptorchidism, the testicles remain within the abdomen, reversible condition. Those suffering from varicocele, however, have veins of the testicle too dilated. This condition increases the body temperature, killing the sperm, and damaging the production itself. Finally, there are orchitis, that is, testicular inflammation that can damage the mechanisms of spermatogenesis.

Post-testicular causes touch the sperm passage outside of the gonads. In these cases infertility is caused by the failure of sperm output, which remain blocked. Obstruction can be caused by congenital malformations or with time. In some cases the cause is an inflammation or an alternate response of the immune system, which attacks spermatozoa.

The Zika virus could become a scourge in a new ally against cancer. A study at the University of Washington and California San Diego analyzed the effects of the virus on tumors. He then found that Zika attacks and kills tumor stem cells, succeeding where the standard treatments fail.

Standard treatments against glioblastoma involve the combined use of chemotherapy and radiation. Despite the aggressive approach, doctors often fail to eliminate malignant stem cells. It follows that the treatments eliminate cancer cells, but bad stem cells produce others. In most cases, the tumor is reformed in about six months and leads to death within one year.

When it comes into contact with a fetus, Zika kills neural stem cells and prevents brain development. A terrible feature, which makes it a great weapon against brain tumors. By addressing the virus against normal-treating malignant stem cells, in fact, it would reduce the risk of recurrences.
Researchers have infected tumor parts with Zika: As expected, the virus eliminated all diseased stem cells. It has left the real cancer cells intact, so by itself it is not enough to eliminate the tumor. For this purpose, chemotherapy and radiation therapy should be used.

Scientists tested the procedure on 18 mice with glioblastoma. Guinea pigs survived much longer than 15 of the control group and did not suffer from healthy cell damage. For greater security, scientists are working on a new version of the virus before passing on human testing.

Source: medicine.wustl.edu

Gene therapy is born with the primary purpose of addressing genetic diseases. In spite of this, applications in the last few years are flourishing applications such as infarction, tumors, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The merit of this success is the flexibility demonstrated by the technique, applicable wherever there is a defective gene to be repaired.

The technique consists in the removal of some defective cells from the patient, which are subsequently corrected and reintroduced into the body. For this purpose, scientists use a virus that is harmless to introduce proper DNA into cells. DNA heals treated cells, which once multiply in the body and replace the diseased ones. Beyond the theory, there are of course obstacles that make practice much more complex.

The first hits date back to 1990 when Claudio Bordignon used the technique on a sick child of Ada-Scid. Despite a first healing, the therapeutic effect of the cells disappeared at the end of their life cycle. Subsequently, the American French Anderson and Michael Blaise made the permanent effect by modifying bone marrow stem cells. Again this time, the results were only partial: the experiments of the new technique caused several deaths and stopped.

2009 was the year of the new beginning for gene therapy. A study by the Telethon Institute of Medical Genetics (Tigem) in Naples returned the sight to a child suffering from amaurosis of Leber. The merit was the discovery of a new vector for transporting DNA in the cell, safer than the previous ones. However, the virus used was not perfect, which required new experiments to find alternatives. Some of these are still under way.
A major breakthrough for gene therapy was the study of the team of Luigi Naldini in 2013. Nandini announced that it has cared for six children at risk of rare genetic diseases. Three had the metachromatic leukodystrophy gene and three others of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. Scientists ran stem cells and used them to replace those sick, blocking the development of the disease.

To date, the steps forward in gene therapy are many. Drugs are being developed for the treatment of tumors, leukemia and genetic diseases.

Source: focus. it

US authorities have approved a new leukemia-based gene therapy, effective in 8 out of 10. Researchers have tested the treatment on 64 children with acute leukemia. Chemotherapy and other drugs had already proved useless to these children. Novartis's approach, however, saved their lives.

The treatment starts with the withdrawal of some patient blood samples. Physicians isolate T lymphocytes and bind them to the CAR-T receptor, so they detect a protein of the diseased cells. This allows them to target leukemic cells and destroy them within 3 months, leaving intact healthy cells.

Although the therapy has saved life to 8 children over 10, it has been shown to have even important side effects. It causes a decrease in pressure, pulmonary congestion and in some cases neurological problems. In fact, T lymphocytes release harmful substances for the functions of the body. However, there are consequences that can be faced and certainly preferable to an almost inevitable death.

The tests had already shown the efficacy of the treatment but lacked FDA approval for marketing. Thanks to the free way, doctors of authorized hospitals will take the T lymphocytes from the patients and send them to the company's offices. There some specialists will be able to engineer them within a month, so that they are injected into the patients.

Source: corriere.it