MEDICAL NEWS

PROTEOGLYCAN /pro·teo·gly·can/ (pro″te-o-gli´kan) any of a group of polysaccharide-protein conjugates present in connective tissue and cartilage, consisting of a polypeptide backbone to which many glycosaminoglycan chains are covalently linked; they form the ground substance in the extracellular matrix of connective tissue and also have lubricant and support functions.

(Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers। © 2007 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc। All rights reserved.)

Proteoglycans are glycoproteins that are heavily glycosylated. They have a core protein with one or more covalently attached glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain(s). The chains are long, linear carbohydrate polymers that are negatively charged under physiological conditions, due to the occurrence of sulfate and uronic acid groups. Proteoglycans occur in the connective tissue.

Researchers from the University of Leeds, UK, the Charite University Medical School and the Max Delbruck Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin, Germany, have discovered a new driving force behind cancer growth.

Their studies have identified how 'junk' DNA promotes the growth of cancer cells in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Professor Constanze Bonifer (University of Leeds) and Dr Stephan Mathas (Charite, MDC) who co-led the study suspect that these pieces of 'junk' DNA, called 'long terminal repeats', can play a role in other forms of cancer as well. The work is published in Nature Medicine.*

The researchers uncovered the process by which this 'junk DNA' is made active, promoting cancer growth.

"We have shown this is the case in Hodgkin's lymphoma, but the exact same mechanism could be involved in the development of other forms of blood cancer," said Prof. Bonifer. "This would have implications for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of these diseases."

'Long terminal repeats' (LTRs) are a form of 'junk DNA' - genetic material that has accumulated in the human genome over millions of years. Although LTRs originate from viruses and are potentially harmful, they are usually made inactive when embryos are developing in the womb.

If this process of inactivation doesn't work, then the LTRs could activate cancer genes, a possibility that was suggested in previous animal studies. This latest research has now demonstrated for the first time that these 'rogue' active LTRs can drive the growth of cancer in humans.

The work focused on cancerous cells of Hodgkin's lymphoma (the Hodgkin-/Reed Sternberg cells) that originate from white blood cells (antibody-producing B cells). Unusually, this type of lymphoma cell does not contain a so-called 'growth factor receptor' that normally controls the growth of other B-cells.

They found that the lymphoma cells' growth was dependent on a receptor that normally regulates the growth of other immune cells, but it is not usually found in B-cells. However in this case, the Hodgkin-/Reed Sternberg cells 'hijacked' this receptor for their own purposes by activating some of the 'junk DNA'. In fact the lymphoma cells activated hundreds, if not thousands, of LTRs all over the genome, not just one.

Hodgkin-/Reed Sternberg cells may not be the only cells that use this method to subvert normal controls of cell growth. The researchers found evidence of the same LTRs activating the same growth receptor in anaplastic large cell lymphoma, another blood cancer.

The consequences of such widespread LTR activation are currently still unclear, according to the study's authors. Such processes could potentially activate other genes involved in tumour development. It could also affect the stability of chromosomes of lymphoma cells, a factor that may explain why Hodgkin-/Reed Sternberg cells gain many chromosomal abnormalities over time and become more and more malignant.

Notes:
*De-repression of an endogenous long terminal repeat activates the CSF1R proto-oncogene in human lymphoma Björn Lamprecht1,2,10, Korden Walter3,10, Stephan Kreher1,2,10, Raman Kumar4, Michael Hummel5, Dido Lenze5, Karl Köchert1,2, Mohamed Amine Bouhlel3, Julia Richter6, Eric Soler7, Ralph Stadhouders7, Korinna Jöhrens5, Kathrin D. Wurster1,2, David Callen4, Michael F. Harte8, Maciej Giefing6,9, Rachael Barlow3, Harald Stein5, Ioannis Anagnostopoulos5, Martin Janz1,2, Peter N. Cockerill3, Reiner Siebert6, Bernd Dörken1,2, Constanze Bonifer3, and Stephan Mathas1,2 1Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, 13125 Berlin, Germany; 2Hematology, Oncology and Tumorimmunology, Charité University Medical School, CVK, 13353 Berlin, Germany; 3Section of Experimental Haematology, Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Leeds, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF, UK; 4Breast Cancer Genetics Group, Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide and Hanson Institute, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia; 5Institute of Pathology, Charité University Medical School, CBF, 12200 Berlin, Germany; 6Institute of Human Genetics, Christian-Albrechts University Kiel & University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, 24105 Kiel, Germany; 7Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Department of Cell Biology, 3015 GE Rotterdam; 8Cytopia Research Pty Ltd, Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia; 9Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 60-479 Poznan, Poland. 10These authors contributed equally to this work.
1. There are about 1,300 new cases of Hodgkin's lymphoma each year in the UK, including 150 in children.
2. LTR fragments were originally formed by infection with retroviruses, a type of virus that can integrate their own genetic material into a host gene. The human genome contains thousands of these LTR fragments.
3. The receptor that was observed to control cell growth in Hodgkin-/Reed Sternberg cells is known as CSF1R (the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor).
4. One of the UK's largest medical and bioscience research bases, the University of Leeds is an acknowledged world leader in bioengineering, cancer, cardiovascular, epidemiology, genetic, musculoskeletal and psychiatric research. Treatments developed in Leeds are transforming the lives of people worldwide with conditions such as diabetes, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. The University is one of the UK's leading research institutions with a vision of securing a place among the top 50 by 2015.
5. This work was supported in part by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB/TRR54), the Wilhelm Sander-Stiftung, the Deutsche Krebshilfe, the KinderKrebsInitiative Buchholz/Holm-Seppensen, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, Cancer Research UK and Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Source:
Paula Gould
University of Leeds

An obese person has accumulated so much body fat that it might have a negative effect on their health. If a person's bodyweight is at least 20% higher than it should be, he or she is considered obese. If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9 you are considered overweight. If your BMI is 30 or over you are considered obese.

People become obese for several reasons, including:

1. Consuming too many calories.
People are eating much more than they used to. This used to be the case just in developed nations - however, the trend has spread worldwide. Despite billions of dollars being spent on public awareness campaigns that attempt to encourage people to eat healthily, the majority of us continue to overeat. In 1980 14% of the adult population of the USA was obese; by 2000 the figure reached 31% (The Obesity Society).

In the USA, the consumption of calories increased from 1,542 per day for women in 1971 to 1,877 per day in 2004. The figures for men were 2,450 in 1971 and 2,618 in 2004. Most people would expect this increase in calories to consist of fat - not so! Most of the increased food consumption has consisted of carbohydrates (sugars). Increased consumption of sweetened drinks has contributed significantly to the raised carbohydrate intake of most young American adults over the last three decades. The consumption of fast-foods has tripled over the same period.

Various other factors also may have contributed to America's increased calorie and carbohydrate intake:

* In 1984 the Reagan administration freed up advertising on sweets and fast foods for children - regulations had previously set limits.
* Agricultural policies in most of the developed world have led to much cheaper foods.
* The US Farm Bill meant that the source of processed foods came from subsidized wheat, corn and rice. Corn, wheat and rice became much cheaper than fruit and vegetables.

2. Leading a sedentary lifestyle.
With the arrival of televisions, computers, video games, remote controls, washing machines, dish washers and other modern convenience devices, the majority of people are leading a much more sedentary lifestyle compared to their parents and grandparents. Some decades ago shopping consisted of walking down the road to the high street where one could find the grocers, bakers, banks, etc. As large out-of-town supermarkets and shopping malls started to appear, people moved from using their feet to driving their cars to get their provisions. In some countries, such as the USA, dependence on the car has become so strong that many people will drive even if their destination is only half-a-mile away.

The less you move around the fewer calories you burn. However, this is not only a question of calories. Physical activity has an effect on how your hormones work, and hormones have an effect on how your body deals with food. Several studies have shown that physical activity has a beneficial effect on your insulin levels - keeping them stable. Unstable insulin levels are closely associated with weight gain.

3. Not sleeping enough.
If you do not sleep enough your risk of becoming obese doubles, according to research carried out at Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick. The risk applies to both adults and children. Professor Francesco Cappuccio and team reviewed evidence in over 28,000 children and 15,000 adults. Their evidence clearly showed that sleep deprivation significantly increased obesity risk in both groups.

Professor Cappuccio said, "The 'epidemic' of obesity is paralleled by a 'silent epidemic' of reduced sleep duration with short sleep duration linked to increased risk of obesity both in adults and in children. These trends are detectable in adults as well as in children as young as 5 years."
Professor Cappuccio explains that sleep deprivation may lead to obesity through increased appetite as a result of hormonal changes. If you do not sleep enough you produce Ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite. Lack of sleep also results in your body producing less Leptin, a hormone that suppresses appetite.

4. Endocrine disruptors, such as some foods that interfere with lipid metabolism.
A team from the University of Barcelona (UB) led by Dr Juan Carlos Laguna published a study in the journal Hepatology that provides clues to the molecular mechanism through which fructose (a type of sugar) in beverages may alter lipid energy metabolism and cause fatty liver and metabolic syndrome.

Fructose is mainly metabolized in the liver, the target organ of the metabolic alterations caused by the consumption of this sugar. In this study, rats receiving fructose-containing beverages presented a pathology similar to metabolic syndrome, which in the short term causes lipid accumulation (hypertriglyceridemia) and fatty liver, and eventually leads to hypertension, resistance to insulin, diabetes and obesity.

Poorly balanced diets and the lack of physical exercise are key factors in the increase of obesity and other metabolic diseases in modern societies. In epidemiological studies in humans, the effect of the intake of fructose-sweetened beverages also seems to be more intense in women. (From - "New Data On Fructose-Sweetened Beverages And Hepatic Metabolism").

Although there appears to be a consensus on the negative effects of fructose-sweetened beverages there is still some debate over the effects of fructose versus high fructose corn syrup - two studies of note are:
"AMA Finds High Fructose Syrup Unlikely To Be More Harmful To Health Than Other Caloric Sweeteners" and "Fructose Sweetened Drinks Increase Nonfasting Triglycerides In Obese Adults".

5. Lower rates of smoking (smoking suppresses appetite).
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) "Not everyone gains weight when they stop smoking. Among people who do, the average weight gain is between 6 and 8 pounds. Roughly 10 percent of people who stop smoking gain a large amount of weight - 30 pounds or more."

6. Medications that make patients put on weight.
According to an article in Annals of Pharmacotherapy, some medications cause weight gain. "Clinically significant weight gain is associated with some commonly prescribed medicines. There is wide interindividual variation in response and variation of the degree of weight gain within drug classes. Where possible, alternative therapy should be selected, especially for individuals predisposed to overweight and obesity." (The Annals of Pharmacotherapy: Vol. 39, No. 12, pp. 2046-2054. DOI 10.1345/aph.1G33)

For the nation's 25 million Type 2 diabetics, and an estimated 57 million pre-diabetics, achieving healthy blood sugar levels and maintaining them is a daily battle. Today, NaturEra, one of the nation's dietary supplements leaders, is announcing for the first time in the U.S. the availability of its Sugar Crush and Sugar Crush Daily products specially formulated and clinically proven to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels overall*. NaturEra's Sugar Crush products have been designed to be a preventative measure for at-risk patients and are backed by clinical research conducted in Israel, that has been accepted for review by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE), two of the most prestigious diabetes organizations in the country.

"When using both Sugar Crush & Sugar Crush Daily together, type 2 diabetics see dramatic results within 10 days in helping them maintain healthy blood sugar levels,*" said Dr. Mishel Weshler, a co-author of the Israeli study and a diabetic implant specialist at Weshler & Weshler Clinic in Nazareth Illit, Israel.

"We are excited to be bringing these critical products that are 100 percent all natural, 98 percent organic and completely effective to the U.S. market to explicitly help people manage their blood sugar levels," said Oren Cohen, NaturEra's CEO. "These products have been in use for more than three years in markets around the globe. We are proud that two leading organizations have chosen to review our clinical findings because as we've come to learn, in the case of the ADA, only about 10-15 percent of the thousands of studies submitted to the organization are selected for review and consideration."

Sugar Crush and Sugar Crush Daily were developed by researchers in Israel and are comprised of unique and proprietary blends of herbals/botanicals known for their medicinal value. By combining the art of blending these herbal ingredients with today's science and technology, NaturEra has created one-of-a-kind products that are clinically proven to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels*. The products are convenient to take as NaturEra recommends consuming 2.5ml of each with a 6 oz. glass of water at particular times of the day, primarily before meals and at bedtime. For best results, the two products should be used in conjunction with one another.

Sugar Crush and Sugar Crush Daily, because they are imported, are more carefully scrutinized than other dietary supplements produced domestically. All NaturEra products are produced to the highest standards and have received a "Free of Sale Certificate" from the Ministry of Health from the country of origin, further indicating they are safe for use. The "Free of Sale Certificate" indicates that a product has been in use without report of interactions with medicines or side effects. A complete listing of Sugar Crush's ingredients is available on the web site at http://www.NaturEraStore.com. Being from Israel, the products are also certified as Kosher.

Sugar Crush and Sugar Crush Daily are initially available at the http://www.NaturEraStore.com web site where consumers can view additional information about each product. The two products come nicely packaged in bottles that are measured to last approximately one month with complete usage instructions included. Sugar Crush and Sugar Crush Daily have a suggested MSRP of $75 per one month's servings which works out to be approximately $1.25 per serving.

Source
NaturEra