Breakthrough: A Molecule That Destroys Cancerous Tumors

SCIENTISTS at the University of Huddersfield are the first to arrive at a deep understanding of a molecule that destroys cancerous tumours without harming healthy cell tissue.  The discovery opens up the potential for highly effective new cancer treatments that are free of serious side effects.

A new journal article describes the science behind the breakthrough.  Now the research team headed by Dr Nikolaos Georgopoulos has developed and patented a cancer treatment regime that exploits the unique properties of the molecule - a protein named Cluster of Differentiation 40 (CD40). The next phase is to secure funding for clinical trials.

Dr Georgopoulos is a specialist in cancer research and he has been investigating CD40 for almost 16 years.

"In 2002, we first reported that this particular member of the TNF receptor family is unique," he said.  "A lot of members of this family are very good at triggering cell death.  But the molecule CD40 is special.  It seems to specifically kill tumour cells, but when you activate it on normal cells, they don't die."

It was vital to understand these remarkable properties of CD40, with their immense potential for cancer therapy.  Years of investigation began to unlock the mystery.

"Cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, are 'hit with a hammer' approaches.  Hit as hard as you can and kill the tumours as well as you can.  But there is usually some collateral damage.  There are side effects," said Dr Georgopoulos.

"We knew this CD40 molecule seemed to be very good at killing tumour cells.  So we decided to observe what it does at the molecular level.  If we understand what it does and what's so special about it, we can design our own way to kill tumours.  We have now identified exactly why this molecule can kill tumour cells and why it leaves normal cells unaffected."

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Tumour cells proliferate by continuously dividing.  This places them under considerable stress, but they have developed protective properties that enable them to cope.  CD40 removes this protection so that the tumour cells die, but because normal cells are not placed under "oxidative stress" they are unharmed by the protein.

Dr Georgopoulos and his co-researchers at the University of Huddersfield made this discovery because instead of working purely with tumour cells, they were able to make comparisons with the effects of CD40 on normal cells as well as engineered - para-malignant - cells that allowed them to mimic the process of carcinogenesis - cancer development.

The team has also worked on a method of using CD40 in targeted, intravenous bio-therapy by discovering the best way to deploy the molecule - using its ligand to activate it.  The discovery has been patented, and the University is exploring commercialisation through a spin-out company - provisionally called ThanatoCure™ - Thanatos is the Greek word for 'death', referring here to cell death.

Advanced discussions are being held with a company that specialises in early-stage development of innovative cancer therapies.  It is hoped that the company will secure funding in the region of £900,000 for clinical trials that would see colorectal cancer patients receiving the new treatment. The trials could start as early as the end of 2017.

This article originally appeared on www.news-medical.net

7 Exercises to Improve Balance

There are two good reasons to turn your workout into a balancing act. First, a controlled wobble activates deep core muscles to help tighten the midsection. Secondly, it prepares athletes for that quick turn or lunge.

Try these seven exercises to improve balance:

Before each move in this workout, engage your abdominals by tightening them—without holding your breath—as if preparing to take a punch. You'll activate the core muscles surrounding your spine and tone your entire abdominal area. Engaged abs also help prevent injury when lifting.

If you have a medical condition, be sure to check with your doctor before this workout or any new fitness program.

1. One-Legged Balance

Start with this beginning move, keeping a stable chair or a wall within arms' reach. With feet together, pick up one foot—knee facing forward or to the side. Hold the position with eyes open, then closed. Switch feet and repeat for four reps on each foot.

If any move feels wrong or unsafe to you, stop and check with a trainer. Depending on your health and physical condition, some exercises may not be recommended.

2. Leg Swings

Stand on your right leg and raise the left leg three to six inches off the floor. With arms at your sides, swing your left leg forward and backward, touching the floor for balance, while keeping your torso erect. Now, repeat the moves, but don't allow your foot to touch the ground. And finally, swing the left foot to the left side, holding the right arm out. Switch legs and repeat.

3. One-Legged Clock With Arms

Balance on one leg, torso straight, head up, and hands on the hips. Visualize a clock and point your arm straight overhead to 12, then to the side (three), and then circle low and around to nine without losing your balance.

Increase the challenge by having a partner call out the different times to you. Switch to the opposite arm and leg and repeat.

4. Clock on an Unstable Surface

Once you master balance moves on solid ground, try them on an unstable surface such as a BOSU platform. Stand near a wall or other support, for safety. Start in the middle of the board on two feet at first. When you feel comfortable, carefully give the one-legged clocks a try. It's harder than it looks.

5. One-Legged Squat

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Point your left foot out front, just barely touching the floor for balance and push your hips back and down into this challenging one-legged squat position. Your right knee is bent, chest upright, eyes forward, and your arms out front. Slowly push up to return to starting position. Switch feet. Be sure the knee doesn't push in front of the toes.

6. Single-Leg Dead Lift

Balance on your left foot, engage the abs, and bend forward at the hips while reaching toward the ground with your right hand. Hold on to a five- to 10-pound weight and raise your right leg behind you for counterbalance. Tighten the buttocks as you return to the starting position. Keep your knee relaxed and back flat throughout the movement. Switch legs.

7. Tools and Toys for Balance

Challenging your balance may be as simple as standing on one leg or closing your eyes. But for added challenge and fun, include balance boards, balance cushions, or sturdy foam rollers.

Keep safety in mind at all times: remove objects around you and stand near a wall or stable surface in case you lose your balance.

This article originally appeared on active.com and was written by Amy Rutherford-Close.

Brachial Plexus Injury: A Nerve Injury You Shouldn't Ignore.

The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that sends signals from your spine to your shoulder, arm and hand. A brachial plexus injury occurs when these nerves are stretched, compressed, or in the most serious cases, ripped apart or torn away from the spinal cord.

Minor brachial plexus injuries, known as stingers or burners, are common in contact sports, such as football. Babies sometimes sustain brachial plexus injuries during birth. Other conditions, such as inflammation or tumors, may affect the brachial plexus.

The most severe brachial plexus injuries usually result from auto or motorcycle accidents. Severe brachial plexus injuries can leave your arm paralyzed, with a loss of function and sensation. Surgical procedures such as nerve grafts, nerve transfers or muscle transfers can help restore function.
 

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of a brachial plexus injury can vary greatly, depending on the severity and location of your injury. Usually only one arm is affected.

Less severe injuries

Minor damage often occurs during contact sports, such as football or wrestling, when the brachial plexus nerves get stretched or compressed. These are called stingers or burners, and can produce the following symptoms:

• A feeling like an electric shock or a burning sensation shooting down your arm
• Numbness and weakness in your arm

These symptoms usually last only a few seconds or minutes, but in some people may linger for days or longer.

More-severe injuries

More-severe symptoms result from injuries that seriously injure or even tear or rupture the nerves. The most serious brachial plexus injury (avulsion) occurs when the nerve root is torn from the spinal cord.

Signs and symptoms of more-severe injuries can include:

• Weakness or inability to use certain muscles in your hand, arm or shoulder
• Complete lack of movement and feeling in your arm, including your shoulder and hand
• Severe pain

When to see a doctor

Brachial plexus injuries can cause permanent weakness or disability. Even if yours seems minor, you may need medical care. See your doctor if you have:

• Recurrent burners and stingers
• Weakness in your hand or arm
• Weakness in any part of the arm following trauma
• Complete paralysis of the upper extremity following trauma
• Neck pain
• Symptoms in both arms
• Symptoms in upper and lower limbs

It's important to be evaluated and treated within six to seven months after the injury. Delays in treatment may compromise outcomes of nerve surgeries.

Causes

Damage to the upper nerves that make up the brachial plexus tends to occur when your shoulder is forced down while your neck stretches up and away from the injured shoulder. The lower nerves are more likely to be injured when your arm is forced above your head. These injuries can occur in several ways, including:

• Contact sports. Many football players experience burners or stingers, which can occur when the nerves in the brachial plexus get stretched beyond their limit during collisions with other players.
• Difficult births. Newborns can sustain brachial plexus injuries when there are problems during birth, such as a breech presentation or prolonged labor. If an infant's shoulders get wedged within the birth canal, there is an increased risk of a brachial plexus palsy. Most often, the upper nerves are injured, a condition called Erb's palsy. Total brachial plexus birth palsy occurs when both the upper and lower nerves are damaged.
• Trauma. Several types of trauma — including motor vehicle accidents, motorcycle accidents, falls or bullet wounds — can result in brachial plexus injuries.
• Inflammation. Inflammation may cause damage to the brachial plexus. A rare condition known as Parsonage-Turner syndrome (brachial plexitis) causes brachial plexus inflammation with no trauma and results in paralysis of some muscles of the arm.
• Tumors. Noncancerous (benign) or cancerous tumors can grow in the brachial plexus or put pressure on the brachial plexus or spread to the nerves, causing damage to the brachial plexus.
• Radiation treatment. Radiation treatment may cause damage to the brachial plexus.

Risk factors

Participating in contact sports, particularly football and wrestling, or being involved in high-speed accidents increases your risk of brachial plexus injury.

Complications

Given enough time, many brachial plexus injuries in both children and adults heal with no lasting damage. But some injuries can cause temporary or permanent problems:

• Stiff joints. If you experience paralysis of your hand or arm, your joints can stiffen, making movement difficult, even if you regain use of your limb. For that reason, your doctor is likely to recommend ongoing physical therapy during your recovery.
• Pain. This results from nerve damage and may become chronic.
• Loss of feeling. If you lose feeling in your arm or hand, you run the risk of burning or injuring yourself without knowing it.
• Muscle atrophy. Slow-growing nerves can take several years to heal after injury. During that time, lack of use may cause the affected muscles to break down (degenerate).
• Permanent disability. How well you recover from a serious brachial plexus injury depends on a number of factors, including your age and the type, location and severity of the injury. Even with surgery, some people experience permanent disability, ranging from weakness in the hand, shoulder or arm to paralysis.

To diagnose your condition, your doctor will review your symptoms and conduct a physical examination.

To help diagnose the extent and severity of a brachial plexus injury, you may have one or more of the following tests:

• Electromyography (EMG). During an EMG, your doctor inserts a needle electrode through your skin into various muscles. The test evaluates the electrical activity of your muscles when they contract and when they're at rest. You may feel a little pain when the electrodes are inserted, but most people can complete the test without much discomfort.
• Nerve conduction studies. These tests are usually performed as part of the EMG, and measure the speed of conduction in your nerve when a small current passes through the nerve. This provides information about how well the nerve is functioning.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This test uses powerful magnets and radio waves to produce detailed views of your body in multiple planes. It often can show the extent of the damage caused by a brachial plexus injury and can help assess the status of arteries that are important for the limb or for reconstruction of it. New methods of high-resolution MRI, known as magnetic resonance neurography, may be used.
• Computerized tomography (CT) myelography. Computerized tomography uses a series of X-rays to obtain cross-sectional images of your body. CT myelography adds a contrast material, injected during a spinal tap, to produce a detailed picture of your spinal cord and nerve roots during a CT scan. This test is sometimes performed when MRIs don't provide adequate information.
• Angiogram. If your doctor suspects that the blood vessels feeding your arm might be injured, he or she might suggest an angiogram — an imaging test where contrast material is injected into an artery or vein to check the condition of your blood vessels. This information is important in planning your surgical procedure.
  
  This article originally appeared on mayoclinic.org

Nerve Pain: Pronator Teres Syndrome

Upper extremity nerve entrapments are a common cause of pain and disability.

The increase in repetitive motions associated with occupational and recreational environments usually is singled out as the primary cause of these problems.

Many individuals with nerve entrapment symptoms will seek the care of a massage practitioner.

Figure 1. Anterior view of the left elbow showing the median nerve going under the superficial head of pronator teres. (3-D anatomy images courtesy of Primal Pictures Ltd., www.primalpictures.com.)

If a client comes to you with an upper extremity pain condition, you want to accurately identify that problem so you can determine if it warrants massage treatment or referral to another health professional. In some cases, a condition might have symptoms that very closely mimic a different pathology. If you don't identify the condition correctly, your treatment is not going to be as effective.

The symptoms of pronator teres syndrome (PTS) can be identical to those of carpal tunnel syndrome because they both involve compression of the median nerve. PTS may be underdiagnosed by medical professionals because its symptoms are so closely related to carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a much more well-known condition.1

PTS develops from compression of the median nerve by the pronator teres muscle, and is sometimes referred to as pronator syndrome. The term pronator syndrome also can include median nerve compression by other structures in the elbow, such as the ligament of Struthers or the bicipital aponeurosis (lacertus fibrosus).2

Figure 2. The sensory distribution of the median nerve in the hand.(Mediclip image copyright 1998, Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved).

As the median nerve passes the elbow, it runs between the two heads of the pronator teres muscle, where the nerve may be compressed (Figure 1). Compression can be due to muscle hypertonicity or fibrous bands within the muscle pressing on the nerve.3 In some cases, pressure is placed on the nerve by anatomical anomalies, such as the nerve traveling deep to both heads of the pronator teres.4 In this situation, the nerve might be compressed against the ulna by the pronator teres muscle itself.

PTS results from repetitive motions that cause hypertonicity in the pronator teres. Occupational activities such as hammering, cleaning fish, or performing any activity that requires continual manipulation of tools can cause overuse of the pronator teres. The hypertonicity then causes nerve compression, and the symptoms are felt in the anterior forearm and the median nerve distribution in the hand (Figure 2). Women are affected more than men, although the reason for this is not clear.

Most symptoms of nerve compression radiate distal to the site of compression. Aching forearm pain and paresthesia, along with pain in the median nerve distribution in the hand, are likely to be PTS and should not be assumed to indicate carpal tunnel syndrome.

Figure 3. The pronator teres test.While PTS and carpal tunnel syndrome both affect the median nerve and have similar symptoms, there are distinct differences. PTS pain is exacerbated by repetitive elbow flexion, and symptoms arise in the forearm as well as the hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome is aggravated by wrist movements, and pain is not experienced as much in the forearm. In both cases, atrophy is possible in the thenar muscles of the hand, which are innervated by branches from the median nerve.

There are several other ways to identify PTS and distinguish it from carpal tunnel syndrome. Clients with carpal tunnel syndrome frequently report night pain, while individuals with PTS generally do not.1 Prolonged wrist flexion during sleep aggravates carpal tunnel syndrome because it decreases the space in the carpal tunnel and presses on the median nerve. Because wrist flexion does not affect the pronator teres muscle, this wrist position does not increase nerve compression symptoms in PTS.

An evaluation procedure called the pronator teres test also is helpful in identifying the condition. The client stands with the elbow in 90 degrees of flexion. The practitioner then places one hand on the client's elbow for stabilization and the other hand grasps the client's hand in a handshake position. The client holds this position as the practitioner attempts to supinate the client's forearm (forcing the client to contract the pronator muscles). While holding the resistance against pronation, the practitioner extends the client's elbow (Figure 3). If the client's pain or discomfort is reproduced, there is a good chance of median nerve compression by the pronator teres. The client should keep the elbow relaxed during the test, because holding the elbow firmly in flexion will not allow elbow extension.

Pronator teres syndrome is most commonly caused by muscular compression of the median nerve. Therefore, it is a condition that is effectively treated with massage. However, it is important that the practitioner accurately identify the problem so treatment can be directed to the proper region of the upper extremity.

This article originally appeared on massagetoday.com and was written by Whitney Lowe, LMT