Ice therapy can treat lung cancer?
Frozen balls of ice can safely kill
cancerous tumours that have spread to the lungs, according to the first
prospective multicenter trial of cryoablation. Cryoablation is a process that uses extreme
cold to destroy or damage tissue.
"Cryoablation has potential as a treatment for cancer
that has spread to the lungs from other parts of the body and could prolong the
lives of patients who are running out of options," said David A Woodrum,
author of the study and interventional radiologist at the Mayo Clinic in
Rochester.
"We may not be able to cure the cancer, but with
cryoablation we can at least slow it down significantly and allow patients to
enjoy greater quality of life longer," he added.
Metastatic lung disease is difficult to treat and often
signals a poor prognosis for patients.
In the initial results of the study trial, 22 subjects with
a total of 36 tumours were treated with 27 cryoablation sessions. Cryoablation was 100 per cent effective in
killing those tumours at three-month follow-up. Follow-up at six months on 5 of
the 22 patients (23 per cent) showed the treated tumours to still be dead.
Cryoablation is performed by an interventional radiologist
using a small needle-like probe guided through a nick in the skin to cancerous
tumors inside the lung under medical imaging guidance. These tumours have spread - or metastasised -
to the lung from primary cancers in other areas of the body. Once in position,
the tip of the instrument is cooled with gas to as low as minus 100 degrees
Celsius.
The resulting halo of ice crystals can destroy cancer by
interrupting its cellular function, protecting nearby healthy, delicate lung
tissue. Lung cryoablation has been promising in part due to the low
periprocedural morbidity.
"Most of these patients can go home the day after their
cryoablation treatment and resume their normal activities," Woodrum said,
noting that researchers plan to continue to follow patients for up to five
years.
While cryoablation is being developed for the treatment of
metastatic lung cancer, the future looks brighter for individuals who once had
nowhere else to turn, said Woodrum.
Source: www.indianexpress.com
17.04.2013
'Too much sugar in diet can make you look older'
Increase in blood sugar levels can
make you look way older than you actually are, a new study has claimed.
According to the study, published in the journal Age, blood glucose levels are
directly related to how old a person looks.
Researchers studied 670 people
between aged between 50 and 70, and found that for every increase in blood
glucose levels of 1 millimole per litre, the participants looked about 5 months
older, 'MyHealthNewsDaily' reported.
Another study looked at glycation -
a process in which blood sugars attach to proteins and form undesirable
molecules called Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs).
It found that glycation is linked
with visible signs of ageing, the report said. An earlier study, published in
the British Journal of Dermatology, found that the collagen and elastin
proteins that keep skin looking supple and youthful are the most susceptible to
damage from the glycation process.
Experts say if you want to keep your
youthful appearance, it's time to cut back on your sugar consumption.
However, that does not mean that
sugar is evil. It is just a carbohydrate. It's how we use, or overuse, that
carbohydrate that matters, they say.
Source: www.indianexpress.com
17.04.2013
To be ready to fail is to be
prepared for success
José BergamÃn
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