Dark Chocolate to Fight Obesity and Type-2 Diabetes?

Dark chocolate has recently been associated with health benefits. From increasing satiety to lowering blood pressure, ingredients of chocolate have been shown to have a positive impact on health and the potential health benefits continue to pile up. Researchers have now found a particular ingredient that may even help prevent obesity as well as type-2 diabetes.

Cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, is rich in flavanols. Flavanols, a type of antioxidant found in grapes and tea, have been reported to aid weight loss and prevent type-2 diabetes. However, flavanols exist in different forms. Cocoa contains several different kinds of these compounds.

Groups of mice were fed different diets, including high-fat and low-fat diets, and high-fat diets supplemented with different kinds of flavanols. Researchers found that adding one particular set of these compounds, known as oligomeric procyanidins (PCs), to the food made the biggest difference in keeping the mice's weight down if they were on high-fat diets. It also improved glucose tolerance, which could potentially help prevent type-2 diabetes.

Potential treatment for vitiligo skin disorder

There is now new hope for an effective treatment for the skin disorder vitiligo. 

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder defined by the destruction of melanocytes, the pigment cells responsible for giving skin its colour, which causes the progressive depigmentation of the skin associated with the disease. The current treatment options remain ineffective and provide little efficacy. The emergence of a new modified protein however, has given hope to the 1 in 200 people worldwide affected by the condition.

Researchers at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine have developed a modified protein which reverses the skin disorder in mice, with similar results in human skin tissue samples.

The protein HSP70i (inducible heat shock protein 70) has been previously shown to influence the autoimmune response in vitiligo. The protein, made of a number of amino acids, was altered by genetically modifying the amino acids which in turn replaces normal HSP70i and thereby reversing the autoimmune response. When applied to mice, the fur which was affected by vitiligo turned back to its normal colour. Similar effects were observed in human skin samples.

As none of the current treatment options, which include steroid creams and skin grafts  are successful in preventing vitiligo, this breakthrough research is a ray of hope for patients. A patent for the protein has been applied for, while researchers hope to enter the treatment option into human clinical trials.

Sleep loss can affect gene activity

It is well documented that individuals who do not get enough sleep are likely to experience a range of health problems. However, why this occurs at a molecular level has yet to be understood.

A study carried out by Möller-Levet et al at the University of Surrey investigated the affect of sleep on gene activity. When volunteers who were allowed just under 6 hours sleep per night were compared with those who slept for 8 or more hours each night, a change in activity of 711 of their genes were recorded. Among the genes affected were those linked with circadian rhythms, sleep homoeostasis, oxidative stress, and metabolism. It was concluded that lack of sleep can radically change the body's daily rhythms and may lead to health problems.

New national screening programme for bowel cancer in the UK

A new national screening programme for colorectal cancer will be available as a part of the National Cancer Screening Programmes in England following positive feedback from patients.

Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK with over 40 000 new cases reported in 2009 alone. This new screening programme, carried out by a flexible sigmoidoscopy, is a quick procedure which can aid early diagnosis and prevention of bowel cancer. 

Flexible sigmoidoscopy, otherwise known as the Flexi-scope, uses a small camera at the end of a flexible plastic tube to search for any any small growths or polyps. Any polyps found can be removed pain-free and with ease.

A study published in the Journal of Medical Screening reported that of the 1020 patients who had a flexible sigmoidoscopy, 98% said they were 'glad' they had the test and 97% would recommend it to a friend.

Unlike other screening programmes, this test has the potential to reduce bowel cancer from developing and for a quick 10 minute test, it would be considered more than worthwhile. 

Kadcyla, a new treatment option for breast cancer patients

A new drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer. This new treatment drug, Kadcyla, combines traztuzumab (herceptin) with emtansine, a powerful chemotherapy agent. 

HER2 positive breast cancer affects around 20-25% of women with breast cancer. HER (human epidermal growth factor receptor) -2 is a protein which influences the growth rate of certain cancer cells. Breast cancer cells can express a large of number of HER2 receptors which stimulate the cancer cells to grow and divide. HER2 positive breast cancers tend to be faster growing and have a poorer prognosis than HER2 negative breast cancers. Women diagnosed with breast cancer are tested for HER2 levels of the cancer cells and this is usually done by either Immunohistochemistry (IHC) or Fluorescent in-situ hybridisation (FISH). Treatment options include surgery (lumpectomy/mastectomy), chemotherapy or newly available targeted therapies.

The use of chemotherapy drugs can however be toxic in a number of individuals as the drugs do not spare normals cells as well as the cancer cells. A new drug therapy developed by Roche Genentech couples Herceptin, a monoclonal antibody, with emtansine, a potent chemotherapy drug. The drug, known as TDM-1, acts as a one-two punch with Herceptin initially binding to the HER2 protein, blocking the receptor and preventing the cancer cells from growing and dividing, followed by delivery of emtansine to the cancer cell destroying it from the inside out. The advantage of this therapy is that normal cells are not destroyed therefore limiting the toxic effects associated with chemotherapy alone. A phase III clinical trial found TDM-1 to have greater progression free survival when compared to treatment with two current chemotherapy drugs.