27, May 2014

Your spit could help diagnose pancreatic cancer

Researchers have said that patients with pancreatic cancer have a different and distinct profile of specific bacteria in their saliva compared to healthy controls and even patients with other cancers or pancreatic diseases.

Pedro Torres of San Diego State University who presented the research said their studies suggest that ratios of particular types of bacteria found in saliva may be indicative of pancreatic cancer.

In the study, Torres and his colleagues compared the diversity of saliva bacteria across 131 patients, 63 female and 68 male, being treated at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Moores Cancer Center. Of these patients, 14 had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, 13 with pancreatic disease, 22 with other forms of cancer and 10 disease free.

Results showed that patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer had higher levels of two particular oral bacteria, Leptotrichia and Campylobacter, when compared to any other healthy or diseased state including non-cancerous pancreatic disease. Those with pancreatic cancer also had lower levels of Streptococcus, Treponema and Veillonella.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

27.05.2014

Nasal spray may deliver drugs to brain

Researchers have said that when it comes to brain diseases pills are actually an extremely ineffecient way to deliver drugs to the brain.

Massimiliano Di Cagno, assistant professor at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, said people with brain diseases are often given huge amounts of unnecessary drugs. During a long life, or if you have a chronic disease, this may become problematic for your health.

He and his colleagues at University of Southern Denmark and Aalborg University have turned their attention to the nose - specifically the nasal wall and the slimy mucosa that covers it.

As we know from e.g. cocaine addicts, substances can be assimilated extremely quickly and directly through the nose. But many medical substances, however, need help to be transported through the nasal wall and further on to the relevant places in the brain.

The vehicles for drug delivery through the nose are typically made of so called polymers. A polymer is a large molecule composed of a large number of repeats of one or more types of atoms or groups of atoms bound to each other. Polymers can be natural or synthetic, simple or complex.

The study has been published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

27.05.2014

Believe you can and you are halfway there

Roosevelt