Body | Page 1286 | Science Codex

Reasons for ibrutinib therapy discontinuation in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

About 10 percent of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) discontinued therapy with the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor drug ibrutinib because of disease progression during clinical trials, according to a study published online in JAMA Oncology.

CLL is the most prevalent leukemia in adults and it is not considered curable without an allogeneic (donor) stem cell transplant. However, advances in therapy have been made, notably the emergence of kinase inhibitors for patients whose disease relapsed, according to the study background.

Robust scientific evidence that chronic fatigue syndrome is a biological illness

Researchers at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health identified distinct immune changes in patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, known medically as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) or systemic exertion intolerance disease. The findings could help improve diagnosis and identify treatment options for the disabling disorder, in which symptoms range from extreme fatigue and difficulty concentrating to headaches and muscle pain.

A study relates the level of pollutants accumulated in the body with obesity levels

A team of Spanish scientists, which includes several researchers from the University of Granada, has confirmed that there is a relation between the levels of certain environmental pollutants that a person accumulates in his or her body and their level of obesity. Subjects with more pollutants in their organisms present besides higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, which are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Feast or famine diet could extend longevity

Think of it as interval training for the dinner table.

University of Florida Health researchers have found that putting people on a feast-or-famine diet may mimic some of the benefits of fasting, and that adding antioxidant supplements may counteract those benefits.

Fasting has been shown in mice to extend lifespan and to improve age-related diseases. But fasting every day, which could entail skipping meals or simply reducing overall caloric intake, can be hard to maintain.

Statin use associated with reduced risk of liver cancer

In a nested-case control study of individuals living in the UK, a part of the world with a relatively low incidence of liver cancer, statin use is associated with a decreased risk of liver cancer, according to a new study published February 26 in the JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Persistent insomnia and increased mortality risk

A connection between persistent insomnia and increased inflammation and mortality has been identified by a group of researchers from the University of Arizona. Their study, published in The American Journal of Medicine, found that people who suffer from persistent insomnia are at greater risk than those who experience intermittent insomnia.

Marshaling the body's natural defense against psoriasis

A three-character code brings relief to patients with psoriasis and sheds light on complex immunoregulation processes: IL-4, an abbreviation for the endogenous signaling molecule Interleukin 4. The substance's ability to inhibit inflammation is well known, but its mechanism of action was not fully understood. Scientists from the Technische Universität München (TUM) and the University of Tübingen have now shown in an animal model and in a study on patients exactly how IL-4 helps against psoriasis at the molecular level and the important role it plays in our immune system.

Link between fluoride and ill health overstated

Despite only finding an association between fluoridated water and underactive thyroid gland, the paper says we should try to reduce all sources of fluoride in the environment. Flickr, CC BY-NC

Sleeping more than 8 hours a day associated with greater risk of stroke

People who sleep for more than eight hours a day have an increased risk of stroke, according to a study by the University of Cambridge - and this risk doubles for older people who persistently sleep longer than average. However, the researchers say it is unclear why this association exists and call for further research to explore the link.

Methods to multiply pluripotent cells for potential therapies raise worries about cancer

The therapeutic promise of human stem cells is indisputably huge, but the process of translating their potential into effective, real-world treatments involves deciphering and resolving a host of daunting complexities.

Writing in the February 25 online issue of the journal PLOS ONE, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with collaborators from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), have definitively shown for the first time that the culture conditions in which stem cells are grown and mass-produced can affect their genetic stability.

Hormone therapy in transgender adults safe

In the most comprehensive review to date addressing the relative safety of hormone therapy for transgender persons, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that hormone therapy in transgender adults is safe. The findings, which appear in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Endocrinology, may help reduce the barriers for transgender individuals to receive medical care.

Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape Is Getting Some Spotlight

Credit: Brill

In some ways, bonobos and chimpanzees are more similar to humans than they are each other and for that reason bonobos can provide an extremely powerful test of ideas about human uniqueness, as well as being crucial to determining the evolutionary processes by which cognitive traits evolve in apes.

Eating peanut at an early age prevents peanut allergy in high-risk infants

New evidence shows that the majority of infants at high-risk of developing peanut allergy are protected from peanut allergy at age 5 years if they eat peanut frequently, starting within the first 11 months of life. For many years Public Health Guidelines, Paediatricians and Allergists have recommended avoiding foods in infant's diet that cause allergies such as peanut.

Antibiotics give rise to new communities of harmful bacteria

Most people have taken an antibiotic to treat a bacterial infection. Now researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of San Diego, La Jolla, reveal that the way we often think about antibiotics - as straightforward killing machines - needs to be revised.

Diet high in red meat may make kidney disease worse

An estimated 26 million people in the United States have chronic kidney disease, which can lead to complete kidney failure. Once the kidneys fail, patients either need to undergo dialysis treatments three times a week or have a kidney transplant to remain alive. In 2013, more than 47,000 Americans died from kidney disease.

Diet can play a key role in whether kidney disease progresses to kidney failure, according to research conducted at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.