A good eight hours of sleep really does our life good, well into the twilight years! A new study has found that sleep abnormalities in midlife may be linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s later in life. Chronic sleep abnormalities include  insomnia, late-night habits, sleep deprivation and irregular sleep habits.

Alzheimer’s is triggered as the peptide amyloid-beta transforms into plaque in the brain’s fluid, and amyloid-beta naturally increases during the day and decreases at night. Published in Science Express, neurologist Jae-Eun Kang and her colleagues found, in both men and mice, that concentrations of amyloid-beta increases during periods of sleep deprivation. When the researchers kept mice awake for an extra 6 hours, the levels of amyloid-beta spiked. So the scientists are suggesting that the sleep-wake cycle may play a role in the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Kang and colleagues furthered their study by treating the insomniac mice with almorexant, which is being tested as treatment for insomina. They found that the levels of amyloid-beta was suppressed, and fluctuations in natural wake cycle were eliminated. Plus, an 8-week treatment of almorexant decreased the amlyloid plaque build up in the mouse brain!

The scientists are saying these are preliminary results and further studies are needed to confirm the use of almorexant as therapy for Alzheimer’s. Meantime, maybe we really should get some sleep… unless you have the rare gene allows certain people to sleep on less hours without any adverse effect.

Via The Scientist; Image: sxc

Post from: Genetics & Health

Music and cancer do not go together, and I mean that in the context of this new technology:

A project at Harvard Medical School created a program to translate the signals from cells into musical notes. Normal signals will sound harmonious, abnormal signals like those coming from cancer cells will sound awful.

Listen to this –

Using date from a pre-existing colon cancer study, bioinformatician Gil Alterovitz and his team created a program that transforms complex genomic information into musical notes, so that abnormal data will sound discordant.

“When things go awry, such as in the case of p53-null mutant colon cancer cells under inflammatory stress conditions, gene expression varies slightly, and inharmonious chord progressions result. Listening to the results — a symphony of electronic harpsichords, recorders, flutes, and oboes — tells the story. (via The Scientist)

Cool isn’t it? The program has been so successful that Alterovitz has been contacted by the US Navy for monitoring sonar signals, and Verizon (the phone company) for keeping track of their complicated networks!

Post from: Genetics & Health

Countries all over the world are taking serious steps to stop the swine flu pandemic. China began its mass vaccination last week. And by October 5, the United States will distribute the first wave of swine flu vaccines, good for 6 million to million people. But the swiftness of government health agencies and the World Health Organization to address this issue is evidence about how rapid the H1N1 influenza virus has spread.

It bears repeating that we need to take precautions in protecting ourselves and our families against the H1N1. What symptoms do you look for in swine flu? The symptoms of swine flu are similar to regular season flu, so report to your doctor if you have any symptoms. You will not know just from the symptoms what kind of flu you have.

I know it can seem very confusing with all the flu viruses going around. Wasn’t there a time when the bird flu was the pandemic scare? And when that didn’t happen, the swine flu took us by surprise!

So I spoke to an children’s infectious disease expert from Seattle Children’s Hospital to get some understanding about the global pandemic that is the H1N1 flu. Dr. Danielle Zerr is the co-chair of the Infection Control Committee at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Zerr talked about three main points:

• The H1N1 is a humanized flu virus, whereas the bird flu was a purely bird flu type. And this human component makes us easily vulnerable to it.
• Should there be enough for everyone, people should get vaccinated, including older children and young adults.
• The vaccine works within two weeks of getting the shot.

More after the cut.

What makes humans so vulnerable to the swine flu?

Dr. Danielle Zerr: People don’t have immunity to it so it is able to pass easily from person to person, and infect large numbers of people.

This virus is a humanized influenza virus. There’s a genetic component from swine, bird and human flu viruses, it can spread easily from person to person. Whereas the bird flu is very much a bird flu strain. The concern with bird flu was that it would gain a human component and become humanized and spread easily.

So the swine flu already combined with human genes so that makes us more vulnerable?

Right and we should call it a novel H1N1, just to be clear, because it’s clearly not just a swine flu.

How fast is the virus mutating?

Zerr: Relative to the vaccines? Typically the vaccine being developed should be good for us this season. Then you will see small changes happen so that by the next seasons forward it won’t be as good as a match. But we can be confident that it’s good this season. [H1N1 flu virus] doesn’t mutate that quickly.

The studies have shown that with the novel h1n1 vaccines, in adolescent and adults, over 90% are getting a good antibody response to the vaccine.  There are studies in children that are ongoing and being completed. I haven’t seen the results from those studies except there is an indication that younger children will need two vaccines to get the good antibody level to protect them from the flu.

If we had enough vaccines, should everyone get vaccinated?

Zerr: If we had enough vaccines everyone could get vaccinated, but in the beginning won’t be enough. The CDC has designed a plan who should get it first, and then when there’s more vaccine other groups can get it.

How quickly does it work?

Normally people will have good antibody levels after two weeks after having the vaccines.

Why are young people between 20-30 the age group with highest incident (or mortality)? They’re supposedly the most fit.

I would need to see the data that you’re talking about. I don’t know that their the group has the highest mortality rate. But in this age of children and young adult, they’re the ones that are being infected at a very high frequency.

Would that have anything to do with their make-up or exposure?

It’s an exposure issue. When you think about kids and young adults in school, in colleges, in their social settings, there’s just much more potential for exposure.

Are there studies that show higher risks of genetic susceptibility in some segment of the population? Are there segments in society that have natural immunity?

I haven’t seen that.

Image: Newscom

Post from: Genetics & Health

In 2009 alone, over 190,000 females and 1,900 males have been diagnosed with breast cancer. But over the years, there have already been more than 10 million cancer survivors. With new research, early screening and treatment, the number of survivors grow. But there is much more work ahead to totally eradicate cancer of the breast and all the other types.

In support of Breast Cancer Awareness this October, several companies are running the Think Pink Campaign and donating their proceeds towards breast cancer foundations and research. One of these is Melange Perfume, which will donate 30% of all sales of their portable Pink Solid Perfumes in floral fragrances to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc..

Mélange’s Solid Perfumes are a combination of fragrance notes and essential oils formed in a base of natural Beeswax and Jojoba Oil. The result is a perfectly solid perfume that glides onto the skin without feeling sticky. Each note and blend is sheer perfection on its own or can be combined with others to create your own custom fragrance. Each perfume (.35 oz) retail for $15.

I’m giving away three perfumes – Melati Jasmine, Japanese Tea Rose and Neroli Blossom and Orange – to three winners! Check out the contest rules after the cut.

For a chance to win a Melange Perfume, share a greeting to any breast cancer patient or survivor. You may make it personal to someone (names may be withheld) or just a generic greeting to a patient or survivor. After all, we are all in this together.

• One entry per person per day.
• It’s open to residents of the US only.
• Contest ends 11:59 midnight EST on October 15, 2009.
• THREE winners will be randomly chosen and announced via blog and email the week after.
• If the winner does not reply within one week, he/she forfeits her winnings and an alternate entry will be chosen.

You may also support the THINK PINK CAMPAIGN by purchasing from Melange Perfume this October.

Post from: Genetics & Health

We know that the cells in our face and skin can only regenerate so many times. We see it on our wrinkles and fine lines, and that’s why we use facial care products religiously, and we maintain healthy habits, to keep our face and skin as subtle and young as much as we can.

It’s known that stem cells found within the skin do create new cells, replenish themselves and continually rejuvenate skin and hair. Well, a new study published in Nature Genetics discovered the very proteins – TCF3 and TCF4 – that are doing the job of continually renewing skin stem cells.

The study, done in mice, showed that skin stem cells that lost TCF3 and TCF4 lost their ability to self-renew and replace skin cells that have died. The skin regenerated only so much until the cells started dying.

The question that researchers want to know is how to keep TCF3 and TCF4 continually supplied into the skin stem cells, therefore letting the cells regenerate itself and grow new skin. Wow, there is so much benefit in this research in helping burn victims grow their skin back, replacing new skin for those who had extensive facial surgeries, and having hair grow back in those who suffer from hair loss.

via Science Daily; Image: Flickr

Post from: Genetics & Health