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Deakin Health Expert Recommends New Direction For Obesity Research
Most of the current obesity research is not proving helpful in finding solutions to the growing international epidemic, according to a Deakin University public health expert.
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Boehringer Ingelheim To Present New Phase II Clinical Data On Two Lead Oncology Compounds At ASCO 2009
Boehringer Ingelheim will present new data on the company"s two lead oncology compounds, BIBW 2992 and BIBF 1120 at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the company announced today. Two studies in the LUX-Lung clinical development program for BIBW 2992 and a Phase II study of BIBF 1120 in ovarian cancer patients will be presented.
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Reps. Ryan, DeLauro Announce Bill To Reduce Unplanned Pregnancies, Provide Social Supports
Abortion opponent Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and abortion-rights supporter Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) held a press conference on Thursday to announce a bill that aims to reduce the need for abortion by preventing unintended pregnancies, among other proposals, the New York Times" "The Caucus" reports. The bill -- crafted in part by the centrist group Third Way -- would increase access to contraceptive services, sex education, health care coverage for pregnant women and children, and adoption. It also would expand access to comprehensive sex education and adoption programs.The bill has the support of abortion-rights groups like the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL Pro-Choice America, both of which had representatives at the press conference. The bill also has the support of antiabortion-rights religious leaders like Joel Hunter of Northland, Fla., and Derrick Harkins of Washington, D.C.The bill, which has been introduced in each of the past three congressional sessions, could "broker a detente" and help "turn down the volume on the culture war," DeLauro said at the press conference. Ryan called the bill an "idea whose time has come," noting that it has gained support from advocates on both sides of the abortion-rights debate.During the press conference, Hunter said advocates of the bill, regardless of their side in the abortion-rights debate, are "taking heat" from other members of their side. He added that the bill is important because it "links together traditional adversaries in a way that advances each of our goals without compromising any of our values" (Becker, "The Caucus," New York Times, 7/23). Harkins said that he is "more optimistic now than I ever have been," adding that women "need real support that divisive debates cannot provide" (Stephenson, CQ HealthBeat, 7/23).Despite support from some antiabortion-rights advocates, the bill has not been welcomed by all groups opposed to abortion rights, including conservative groups Family Research Council, National Right to Life and Democrats for Life of America. Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life, said her group does not support the bill because preventing unintended pregnancies already is a goal of other programs. She noted that her group instead supports the Pregnant Women Support Act (HB 2035, SB 270), which focuses on services for women who carry their pregnancies to term but does not include prevention (CQ HealthBeat, 7/23). In a statement, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said the bill is "fraught with funding for abortion providers and provisions that further encourage promiscuous sex and discourage parental involvement."Although the White House has not voiced a position on the bill, there are "reasons to believe" that the Obama administration will support some of the legislation"s proposals, "The Caucus" reports ("The Caucus," New York Times, 7/23). DeLauro said that she and Ryan plan to seek Republican co-sponsors for the bill, although they do not yet have any. She added that she thinks President Obama will support the bill because it includes language similar to his rhetoric on reducing the need for abortion. In addition, Obama"s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was a co-sponsor of the bill when he served in the House (CQ HealthBeat, 7/23). Ryan said that the bill, which does not yet have an estimated cost, is "now open for support from all quarters."According to "The Caucus," the bill is being introduced at a time when abortion is a growing topic in health care reform legislation. Policymakers on both sides of the abortion-rights debate are expressing concern about how private insurance coverage of abortion is treated in health care reform. Ryan and DeLauro both support a policy that would neither require nor forbid insurance companies from covering the procedure ("The Caucus," New York Times, 7/23). During the press conference, DeLauro said that the new bill would not force insurance providers to cover abortion services. She said, "What we don"t want to do is go backward. We
Cardiovascular

Silenced Genes As A Warning Sign Of Blood Cancer

In many types of cancer, parts of the genetic material of tumor cells are switched off by chemical labels called methyl groups. This kind of methyl labeling ranges among the epigenetic changes that do not change the sequence of DNA building blocks. Such labels are found particularly often in genes which act as important inhibitors of pathogenic cell growth. Cancer researchers do not know why healthy cells and cancer cells differ in their methylation patterns and why it is particularly the cancer inhibitors that are frequently switched off. The study of these questions is a very promising area of research, because there are drugs available that can prevent the attachment of methyl groups or other epigenetic changes and, thus, at least delay the onset of cancer. Professor Dr. Christoph Plass at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) has investigated, jointly with colleagues from the Ohio State University in Columbus, U.S.A., the processes leading to the different methyl labels in cancer cells. A key question is when the first labels occur in the development of cancer. In their recently published study the investigators used mice affected by chronic lymphocytic leukemia as a model for studying the disease. The researchers investigated the genetic material of these mice at regular intervals from birth. They discovered first cancer-typical methylation patterns in mice that were only three months old. This means that deviations in methylation occur long before the first signs of disease appear. These were not observed before the animals were thirteen months old. Moreover, the researchers were able to show that methylation patterns in murine DNA are largely corresponding to those found in humans suffering from leukemia. This confirms that the mouse model is suitable for studying the disease. "Since first deviations in methylation occur so early in mice, we should find out whether this is also true for humans. If so, an early methylation test in high-risk individuals could provide clues about a developing cancer," Christoph Plass says. In this case, preventive medical intervention might be possible. Drugs preventing methyl group attachment might delay the onset of cancer. First clinical studies have already been started to check this. "This is probably most effective in a very early phase of methylation," Plass explains. The researchers believe that the first chemically deactivated genes trigger whole cascades of changes in the genetic material which can hardly be controlled at a later stage. Keyword: Epigenetics The cells of the roughly 200 different tissues of the human body can fulfill their special tasks only by regulating the activity of their respective genes very specifically. Although every single gene is equipped with its own control elements, this is not enough for complex coordination. There is a second code that serves as an additional control level. In addition to the genetic switches that are directly integrated in the genetic material, the DNA, genes can also be switched on or off by chemical labeling of the DNA or the DNA packaging proteins. The most common of such epigenetic mutations is the attachment of methyl groups. The effect of these small chemical compounds is that a gene can no longer be read and translated into proteins. Unlike genetic mutations, which permanently change the sequence of the DNA building blocks, all epigenetic mutations are reversible and, therefore, potential target structures of appropriate drugs. Notes: Shih-Shih Chen, Aparna Raval, Amy J. Johnson, Erin Hertlein, Te-Hui Liu, Victor X. Jin, Mara Sherman, Shu-Jun Liu, David W. Dawson, Katie E. Williams, Mark Lanasa, Sandya Liyanarachchi, Thomas S. Lin, Guido Marcucci, Yuri Pekarsky, Ramana Davuluri, Carlo M. Croce, Denis C. Guttridge, Michael A. Teitell, John C. Byrd,, and Christoph Plass: Epigenetic changes during disease progression in a murine model of human chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 2009, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0906455106 Dr. Sibylle Kohlstaedt Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres


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