Can Sound Waves Be Used To Cure Cancer?

I don’t know if this latest breakthrough in medical science will soon allow your healthcare provider to subsidize your high end audio rig, but can sound waves soon be a viable cure for cancer?

By: Ringo Bones

The newfangled medical procedure is called acoustic cluster therapy and even though a number of white papers had been published of the subject as far back as 2015, the first ever patient has been treated with acoustic cluster therapy got press coverage back in December 17, 2019. The procedure uses microscopic clusters of bubbles and liquid droplets formed via ultrasound waves to enhance the delivery of chemotherapy drugs to tumors. The procedure promises to improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy by better targeting it to the cancer site and could potentially be explored with reduced doses of chemotherapy drugs in order to reduce the severity of the side effects.

The new treatment has been recently being trialed by The Institute Of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The next step, the phase I and II clinical trial of acoustic cluster therapy will aim to provide early data on the effectiveness of the therapy as well as establish its safety. The treatment will then be used to treat patients with tumors in the liver that had spread from the bowel or pancreas.

Professor Jeffrey Barber, professor in physics applied to medicine at The Institute Of Cancer Research is delighted that the work “has progressed to the point where the technology is now being assessed in patients for the first time. It’s a very exciting door opening technology which concentrates more of the drug in the tumor.” The clinical trial is largely funded by Phoenix Solutions with additional funding from the Research Council of Norway, as well as support from the NHR Biomedical Research Centre at The Royal Marsden and the ICR.

Gene Silencing: A New Frontier In Medicine?

Could inherited diseases now be treated by a newly-developed treatment called “gene silencing"?

By: Ringo Bones

Gene silencing had shown really promising results after a recent trial treatment to treat an inherited disease called porphyria – a crippling illness often linked to the madness of King George III. Patients with prophyria participating in the trial treatment of a new drug saw attacks of crippling pain reduced by 90-percent on average with half of them had resulted in the elimination of chronic pain. Porphyria is an inherited disorder which means people with the disorder cannot produce haem – a vital component of hemoglobin in red blood cells that transport oxygen around the body – and therefore suffer a painful buildup of chemicals called porphyrins. In the 1960s, psychiatrists suggested that the inherited illness might explain the mania suffered by King George III, based on evidence that he had purple urine which is a main symptom of the disorder.

The newfangled treatment uses an approach called gene silencing. A gene is part of our DNA that contains the blueprint for making proteins, such as hormones, enzymes or raw cellular building materials. But our DNA is locked away inside a cell’s nucleus and kept apart from a cell’s protein-making factories. So our bodies use a short strand of genetic code, called messenger RNA, to bridge the gap and carry the instructions. This drug, called givosiran, kills the messenger in the process known as RNA interference. In acute intermittent porphyria, the drug lowers the levels of an enzyme involved in haem production and prevents the buildup of toxic proteins.

Prof. David Rees from King’s College London treated patients taking part in the trial in the UK. He told the BBC that “this is a really important treatment   - it’s innovative. Porphyria is one of the first conditions it has been used successfully. I’m genuinely surprised how well it works in this condition and I think it offers a lot of hope in the future.” Gene silencing has been used to treat a genetic disease that causes nerve damage and the US Food and Drug Administration said such medicines “have the potential to transform medicine”. Other ongoing trials have shown that the gene silencing drug givosiran has the potential to treat other inherited diseases but it is still in its very early days. A similar approach is also being investigated in Huntington’s disease, which is caused by a buildup of a toxic protein that kills brain cells. Researchers are also looking into it as an alternative to statins for lowering cholesterol.

Climate of Secrecy Surrounds a Drug Resistant Fungus?

After a patient died after 90 days being admitted in Mount Sinai Hospital, why is there a so-called climate of secrecy surrounding Candida auris – a deadly drug-resistant fungus?

By: Ringo Bones

An elderly man died from the fungus last year at Mount Sinai Hospital following abdominal surgery and yet the Trump Administration had never issued a public health warning. A drug-resistant superbug fungus variant of Candida auris has sickened nearly 600 people across the United States in recent years, including more than 300 patients in New York State, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reported. Candida auris, a fungus that normally preys on people with weakened immune systems can be deadly if not treated properly. “Most Candida auris cases in the United States have been detected in the New York City area, New Jersey and the Chicago area,” the CDC said in a statement. The fungus was seen in the United States for the first time in 2013, Dr. Lynn Sosa, Connecticut’s deputy state epidemiologist had told The New York Times that she views Candida auris as “pretty much unbeatable and difficult to identify.” But why is it that the so-called “veil of secrecy” surrounding Candida auris has just been recently lifted and at most without the attendant press fanfare?

According to the CDC, symptoms of the fungus may be difficult to detect because patients are often already sick and only a lab test can identify the superbug. Candida auris can cause different types of infections, including bloodstream infection, wound infection and ear infection. People that recently had surgery, live in nursing homes, or who have breathing tubes, feeding tubes or central venous catheters appear to be at highest risk. “Based on information from a limited number of patients, 30 to 60-percent of people with C. auris infections have died. However, many of these people had other serious illnesses that also increased their risk of death,” the CDC said.

While most Candida auris infections are treatable with antifungal medications, the CDC says its concerned that some variants of the fungus have proven to be resistant to all three main classes of antifungal medications. “In this situation, multiple antifungal medications at high doses may be needed to treat the infection.” The CDC said.

3D Organ On A Chip: The Future Of Drug Research?

Primarily developed to increase the accuracy of drug research in the lab, could a 3D Organ On A Chip also point to the future of cruelty-free drug testing by reducing the use of lab animals?

By: Ringo Bones

The newfangled device, which incorporates cells inside a 3D transistor made from a soft sponge-like material inspired by how cells in nature are structured, now allows scientists the ability to study cells and tissues in new ways. By enabling cells to grow in three dimensions, the device more accurately mimics the way that cells grow in the body. The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge say their device could be modified to generate multiple types of organs – a liver on a chip or a heart on a chip, for example – ultimately leading to a body on a chip which would simulate how various treatments affect the body as a whole. Their results are reported in the journal Science Advances.

Traditionally, biological studies were – and still are – done in petri dishes, where specific types of cells are grown on a flat surface. While many of the medical advances made since the 1950s, including the polio vaccine, have originated in petri dishes, these two-dimensional environments do not accurately represent the native three-dimensional environments of human cells and can, in fact, leas to misleading information and failures of drugs in clinical trials. “Two-dimensional cell models have served the scientific community well, but we now need to move to three-dimensional cell models in order to develop the next generation of therapies,” says Dr. Roisin Owens from Cambridge’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology and the study’s senior author.

Cambridge University’s 3D Organ On A Chip could also spell good news on the reduction of the use of lab animals which could eventually lead to cruelty-free drug testing. Remember how Canadian scientists Fredrick G. Banting and his team discovered insulin back in 1921? They extensively used dogs in their lab to find out how insulin works and how it could be used to treat Type-1 diabetes in humans and unfortunately, it resulted in the deaths of many dogs.

Could Drugs That Target Zombie Cells Make Us Live Forever?

Although it is still on early trials yet on mice, could drugs that target “zombie cells” be used to make us live forever?

By: Ringo Bones

Mayo Clinic in the United States are conducting early trials on senolytics: anti aging drugs that can slow and even reverse the ageing process, in a bid to ward off diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease and diabetes that showed really promising results on lab animals. A senolytic is among the class of small molecules under basic research to determine if they can selectively induce death of senescent cells – also known as zombie cells. The goal of those working to develop senolytic agents is to delay, prevent, alleviate, or reverse age-related diseases. Multiple possible senolytic agents are under investigation. Certain anti-cancer agents may, in low doses, decelerate aging and age-related diseases. Targeting cancer prevention with anti-cancer agents may confer longevity effects by offering protection from metabolic pathologies during aging, independently of effects of cancer. Navitoclax, also known as ABT-263, was originally studied as an anti-cancer drug.

Cellular senescence – i.e. how zombie cells behave inside our bodies – is one of the causes of aging because the inflammatory signals generated by growing numbers of senescent cells or zombie cells disrupt tissue maintenance and cell function and play an important role in many age-related conditions, including osteoarthritis. The best approach in dealing the senescent cells inside our bodies appear to be a simple one – destroy them. These so-called zombie cells accumulate slowly and therapies that selectively remove senescent cells have been shown in animal studies to produce significant reversal of numerous aspects of aging.

Research on flushing out those so-called zombie cells from our bodies to reverse the human aging process is still on its early stages. Most biochemical startups are focusing on some anti-cancer drugs. Others are researching the stem-cell route to make zombie cells revert into less harmful normal cells. But research into the use of existing of-the-shelf anti-cancer drugs that target zombie cells is the one that currently shows the most promise. Even the relatively inexpensive and widely available diabetes drug metformin has been studied for its anti-aging effects for a number of years because this drug was found out to inhibit the nasty secretions of senescent cells.

Aerotoxic Syndrome: Unrecognized Occupational Health Hazard to Pilots and Cabin Crew?

Aerotoxic Syndrome, also known as Toxic Cabin Air Syndrome, could be poised to become as the airline industry’s version of the dreaded “Gulf War Syndrome?

By: Ringo Bones

As of March 28, 2019, five of the UK’s largest airlines are facing legal action which claims pilots and cabin crew are regularly exposed to toxic fumes during flight. The Unite Union said legal notice has been served in 51 cases, the majority of which are against British Airways. Easyjet, Thomas Cook, Jet2 and Virgin Atlantic are also subject to the legal action over “aerotoxic syndrome”. The Unite Union, which represents airline staff, claims pilots and crew are exposed to frequent “fume events” when air drawn into the aircraft becomes contaminated by toxic compounds. The Unite Union says the fumes – which originate from the oil used to lubricate the jet engines – contain organophosphates and trichlorophenol and long-term exposure can lead to chronic ill effects and life threatening conditions. Pardon me but two of the chemicals mentioned here reminded me of nerve gas / cholinesterase inhibitor chemical agent precursors suspected of causing the dreaded “Gulf War Syndrome” that affected a large number of troops who served during Operation Desert Storm back in 1991.

Sadly the science behind aerotoxic syndrome is still under dispute by the world’s leading occupational health authorities. Aerotoxic Syndrome is a phrase coined by Chris Winder and Jean-Christophe Balouet in 2000 to describe their claims of short-term and long-term ill-health effects caused by breathing airline cabin air which was alleged to have been contaminated to toxic levels that exceed established parts per million safe levels with atomized engine oils or other chemicals. An assessment by the UK’s House of Lords Science and Technology Committee found that claims of health effects were unsubstantiated. An update in 2008 found no significant new evidence. As of 2013, aerotoxic syndrome is still not recognized in medicine. Could aerotoxic syndrome / toxic cabin air syndrome just become the global airline industry’s Gulf War Syndrome? 

Is Space Herpes For Real?

Although it seems like a plot from a bad science fiction movie, does the latest studies from NASA already shows that prolonged space travel could trigger a so-called “space herpes” epidemic?

By: Ringo Bones

No, it is not a plot from a bad Star Trek episode although there was an episode in Star Trek Voyager that explains why the rulebook on the Prime Directive is over two inches thick and despite Stephen Colbert and other late night show hosts recently poking fun at it, it seems that NASA researchers have recently uncovered that prolonged spaceflight is triggering viruses such as herpes, chickenpox and shingles in astronauts. As part of the study on the impact of space travel has on viruses, NASA researchers analyzed blood, urine and saliva samples from astronauts before, during and after Space Shuttle flights and International Space Station missions.

The findings were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology show an increase in shedding or reactivation of these viruses while in space. Lead study author Satish K. Mehta from Johnson Space Center said “to date, 47 out of 89 (53 percent) NASA astronauts on short Space Shuttle flights and 14 out of 23 (61 percent) on longer International Space Station missions shed herpes viruses in their saliva or urine samples. These frequencies – as well as the quantity – of viral shedding are markedly higher than samples from before or after flight, or from matched healthy controls.”

According to researchers, the reactivation of the dormant viruses was found to be caused by stress – the same factor that awakens them here on Earth. So being exposed to prolonged periods of weightlessness are not turning these viruses into superbugs? Although bathroom breaks in the weightless conditions of space – to me at least – can be quite a stressful experience in comparison to going here on the sensation of the Earth’s normal pull of gravity. In addition to being confined in small spaces and separated from family and friends for extended periods of time, astronauts also undergo stress during takeoff and re-entry, the most dangerous phases of space travel. Add to that exposure to weightless conditions and increased doses of cosmic radiation.

The study also found that four of the eight human herpes viruses were detected, including oral, genital, shingles and chicken pox, however, although the viruses were found to “wake up”, most of the astronauts did not display symptoms. According to Mehta “Only six astronauts developed any symptoms due to viral reaction, all were minor.” In addition to the increased possibility of infecting others, the reactivation of the herpes virus raises concerns regarding future long-term missions to the planet Mars. According to Mehta “The magnitude, frequency and duration of viral shedding all increase with length of spaceflight. The ideal countermeasure is vaccination for astronauts – but this is so far available only against chickenpox.” Researchers are currently looking for methods of combating the reactivation of the virus – which would also benefit those here on Earth.

Beyond Verbal: Also A Novel Medical Diagnostic Tool?

Originally an Israeli start-up company that claims to do emotion recognition using vocal intonations, could Beyond Verbal’s vocal analyzing system also serve as an early medical diagnostic tool?

By: Ringo Bones

When Dr. Yoram Levanon founded Beyond Verbal back in 2012, their patented computer algorithm was originally intended to provide emotion recognition by analyzing subtle and not-so-subtle vocal intonations. Beyond Verbal commercializes a patented technology from 18 years of research by physicists and neuropsychologists into the mechanisms of human intonations. The company says that its technology enables machines to understand human emotions by analyzing raw voice intonations as people speak. This technology is based on research of over 70,000 subjects in more than 30 different languages, which led to the development of the app that extracts people’s moods, attitudes and personality from the intonations of their voice. Together with neuro-psychologist Dr. Lan Lossos, the original idea for Beyond Verbal came when Dr. Levanon began showing interest in how babies – who do not understand a single word – are able to figure out exactly what their caretakers feel toward them. Levanon and Lossos then studied over 60,000 test subjects in at least 26 languages and their success in extracting, decoding and measuring human moods, attitudes and personalities gave birth to what they call Emotional Analytics.   

Years later, it was found out that their app can also manage to detect illness through the sound of one’s voice. As of 2019, during various interviews with the press, CEO, founder and Beyond Verbal’s chief scientist Dr. Yoram Levanon states that the latest version of their Beyond Verbal app has the ability to be able to analyze diseases via the human voice with up to 75-percent accuracy in tests via a newly added classifier using vocal biomarkers. The latest version of the Beyond Verbal app has now the ability to detect early signs of Parkinson’s disease and prostate cancer and even early signs of autism in children.