StemCell Therapy

150 financial institutions advancing the Longevity financial industry

There are over 1 billion people currently in retirement. New types of financial institutions are evolving to satisfy the needs of this aging population. Investment banks, pension funds, and insurance companies are developing new business models, and are using AI to improve the quality of the analytics used to formulate them. In the near future, the synergy between innovative AI and wealth management will lead to the creation of a new financial institutions optimized for the aging population. Age-friendly Longevity banks will make banking services easier and safer for seniors.

Over 150 financial companies are already developing innovative WealthTech and AgeTech products and services and AI is central to the process. AI drives Longevity, Longevity enables AgeTech, AgeTech enables WealthTech, and WealthTech supports interest in Longevity as an industry. This makes the ongoing growth of AgeTech and WealthTech inevitable.Many innovative financial institutions are in development such as Longevity-focused venture funds, Longevity-AgeTech banks, Longevity index funds and hedge funds, and even a specialized stock exchange for Longevity-focused companies and financial products.

The 7th Continent - 1 billion people in retirement globally.

AgeTech

AgeTech refers to technologies and services optimized for people over 60. AgeTech services enable older people to conduct banking with less difficulty and also helps protect them from financial fraud. AgeTech products for seniors include tablets, smartphones, computers, banking interfaces, medical alert systems, and phone amplifiers. AgeTech is not limited to the financial industry. For instance, theres a growing demand for smart homes for older people. Age friendly smart homes provide AI products and services that make it possible for people to stay in their own homes even if they require special care. The AgeTech segments potential is forecasted to reach $2.7 trillion by 2025, showing 21% annual market growth.

WealthTech

WealthTech companies produce products and services that simplify and enhance the creation and maintenance of wealth. WealthTech companies, which offer advice based on AI and big data, are adapting existing products and services to enhance the financial situation of people over 60. These companies are implementing innovations to address the financial challenges that many seniors face. The following are four examples of WealthTech.

Top 150 pension funds, banks, insurance companies, reinsurance companies, and asset management firms ... [+] advancing Longevity, AgeTech, WealthTech

Longevity Stock Exchange

There are hundreds of Longevity startups in the UK, EU, US and Asia and 99% of them are not publicly traded. This means that they are limited to seeking funding from angel investors and venture investors, which represents a very small fraction of available global wealth. This situation creates an extreme funding deficit and a major illiquidity problem.Almost all DeepTech sectors are facing this situation, but the negative repercussions are particularly bad for the Longevity industry, as it leads to reduced quality of life and unnecessary suffering for many older people. It also threatens to inflict crippling economic effects on national healthcare systems, pensions, social security systems, and national economies. Furthermore, in many cases investors exploit the gross illiquidity for their own financial advantage, to the detriment of Longevity and DeepTech startups.

In the future a Longevity Stock Exchange will be developed to deal with specialized derivatives. This will be a means by which investors can provide increased liquidity to the Longevity industry, and will lead to a self-sustaining cycle of growth in the Financial Longevity Industry whereby the effect of aging on GDP is repeatedly offset and the wealth created is reinvested into technologically reinvigorated human capital. The increased liquidity will enable greater flexibility and growth for companies listed on the exchange, and will help advance the Longevity industry as a whole. Setting up a Longevity Stock Exchange will require the public listing of at least 100 Longevity focused companies to create enough diversity and potential volume for trading.

Novel Financial Institutions for the Longevity Economy

AgeTech Longevity Banks

The growth of the aging population will be accompanied by a proliferation of other products including new types of savings accounts, specialized retirement plans, and specialized financial advising. As a consequence, new types of financial products, new asset classes, new investment strategies, and longer-dated bonds and securities will be developed. Traditional banks, as opposed to challenger banks, are taking the first steps in AgeTech and adapting their infrastructure for people over 60. For example, HSBC has partnered with the Alzheimers Society to create dementia-friendly products, and Barclays is actively developing software for seniors to make their customer experience more comfortable.

Over the next few years, it is likely that WealthTech and AgeTech will come to be regarded as complementary functions and AgeTech Longevity Banks reconfigured specially for seniors will emerge. Rising life expectancy is creating new opportunities for the financial sector and as the proportion of people in retirement continues to grow, an increasing number of products and services will be offered. New financial institutions optimized for people 60+ will help transform the growing aging population from a global threat into a global opportunity and will spawn a whole new industry the capitalization of which could exceed anything ever conceived of by financial markets.

Click here to preview a new book that I co-authored with my colleague Dmitry Kaminskiy Longevity Industry 1.0 - Defining the Biggest and Most Complex Industry in Human History.

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AI Is Central To The Longevity Financial Industry - Forbes

According to a popular quip, age is down to mind over matter: If you dont mind, then it doesnt matter. But enough people do mind that the anti-aging industry is worth some $100 billionand countingevery year.

Sadly for those people, and the rest of us, attempts to halt the clock seem as futile now as when our ancestors searched for the Fountain of Youth. The modern but ghastly practice of so-called vampire infusions of young bloodcosting $8,000 a literbecame the latest age-defeating bunk consigned to the trash, following a warning last year from the Food and Drug Administration that they dont work.

No great surprise therenor that people were willing to try it. As I move through my 40s, conventional anti-aging advice from scientists and doctors has remained much the same: Eat your greens, exercise, dont drink and get plenty of sleep. Thanks for nothing. Cant science in 2020 do better?

Courtesy of Unsplash

Actually it can. After centuries of snake oil and false promises, work on anti-aging is moving from untested quackery to the lab.

For starters, scientists now have a more accurate way to measure aging than simply counting birthdays. Its called an epigenetic clock. In exchange for $300 and a small vial of my blood,a company called myDNAge measured mine last year. I did this out of both professional and personal curiosityand because I was secretly convinced that beneath my middle-aged exterior lies a much younger man, and I wanted science to confirm that.

Developed by Steve Horvath of UCLA, the test analyzed more than 2,000 locations on my DNAfor signs of biochemical changes called methylation. These changes, the addition of tiny chemical tags, accumulate over time, depending on our lifestyles, and affect how genes work. Ive never smoked, dont drink as much as I used to and no longer receive birthday cards from local takeout restaurants, so I thought my DNA would be in good shape.

I was wrong. In a short and unemotional report, the company told me that sample BL745677 showed my DNA age was 48: 12 months older than my calendar age. It got worse. Of all the other 47-year-olds who took the test, some two-thirds of them have younger genes than I do. Id like to say my first reaction was shock and humility. Instead I assumed the test was wrong. And then I read Horvaths take on that: Its really more likely that planet Earth will be hit by an asteroid tomorrow than that this predictor doesnt work. Ive never heard a scientist talk like that, with no comforting caveats to soften the blow (or counteract lawsuits and peer objections) and no margin for error offered to console my bruised vanity.

Courtesy of Unsplash

Still, what can be measured can be managed, and epigenetic clocks could finally offer a robust way for science to extend our life spans. It gives us a chance to see what worksand the motivation to use it. I got my results in June, and spurred into action, Ive started to run again. Ive lost 10 pounds and now drink alcohol only on weekends. Next year I plan to get my DNA age checked again, and I hope to have lost that extra year and then some.

If that sounds too much like hard work, youll be pleased to learn that shortcuts are being developed. Several anti-aging scientists have told me they take a common diabetes drug called metformin. And test results published last year suggest why: Metformin can help wind back the epigenetic clock. Blood tests taken before and after showed that the subjectsall men in their 50s and 60s who took the drugs for 12 months in a small trialshed an average of 2.5 years.

Scientists arent sure yet how metformin does this, but bigger trials exploring epigenetic clocks are planned to confirm its so. Only then would it be widely available. At the moment, however, many committed users must buy the drug online. Thats not for me: Its impossible to know for sure what youre getting. Countering the earlier motto, I do mind about my age, but it doesnt matter so much that Id take that risk. Its unlikely that either exercise or metformin will take me to 120 years, but that we can measure progress at alland shave a few years off our agetells me future interventions should indeed get us to an extended, healthy life span. Until then, Ill continue to run against the clock.

Read the rest here:
No More Snake Oil: Science Has Finally Uncovered Legitimate Ways to Boost Our Life Span - Robb Report

KEY POINTS

Serena Williams revealed how she managed to keep her winning ways and gave her sister Venus a piece of advice.

In her stellar career, Williams has ultimately become one of the greatest tennis players of all time. However, the five-time WTA Tour winner doesnt really believe she is womens Tennis GOAT.

In a recent interview with Tennis World USA, Williams said that she never thought that her name will be included in GOAT talks. In fact, even to this day, Williams doesnt think about it too much.

When my career started I never thought that I would be even in the conversation of the greatest. Now I don't think of a number too much. Obviously I would like if get to a certain number, but I don't think about it too much because I don't want to be. I just want to enjoy every moment that I have, Williams said.

Williams then revealed her simple secret to longevity. According to legendary tennis player, she doesnt put the pressure of winning more Grand Slams on herself and just want to enjoy every moment.

You know, every time I win Grand Slams, if I continue and I will try my best to win more I just want to have fun with it, so... I think what enables me to win more is the fact that I don't put that pressure on myself, Williams revealed.

The Olympic gold medalist also spoke about her sister Venus, who, despite dealing with Sjogren syndrome, has kept competing at the highest level.

According to Serena, if she werein Venus shoes, she would have opted to play doubles.

If I were Venus, I probably would have been like, Well, I might just play doubles, Serena said.

But Serena admires her sisters eagerness to still compete despite the fact that Venus might never be the same player she once was.

But her spirit and her, like, it's just amazing because I know what she goes through more than anyone else here, and sometimes she's doing great and sometimes it's different and it's difficult. She might lose matches that she would normally win 10 times out of 10, but to accept that and keep going is really amazing, Serena of her sister Venus.

Serena Williams hugs Venus Williams after her loss to her sister during Day 8 of BNP Paribas Open on March 12, 2018, in Indian Wells, California. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Just recently, Serena posted a touching message about Venus on social media. Serena wrote the caption next to an Instagram photo of Venus standing on a beach showering the older Williams some sisterly love.

Doubles partner sister soulmate one of my fav sisters@venuswilliams, Serena wrote.

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Serena Williams Reveals Secret To Longevity, Gives Venus Williams Advice - International Business Times

By now, most people know they should have a financial plan, even though many do not. But what about an income distribution plan? For decades, the benefits of financial plans have been discussed but only for the last few years have we begun to hear about income plans. The reason for the recent discussion is due to our aging population. According to a 2017 AARP study, 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day, and this is expected to continue into the 2030s!

Investors have been taught well how to save and invest for their retirements, but they havent had nearly enough education on how to spend what they have taken most of their lives to accumulate.

Spending down your assets is one of the biggest issues facing retirees today. To be honest, saving for retirement isnt all that hard. By buying a well-diversified, low-cost, mostly equity portfolio, the market is going to do most of the work. Where the real challenge lies is in unsaving or spending down these same assets in retirement. But how do we go about doing that? You have to be aware of things like income and capital gains taxes and their effects on your returns as well as on your spendable income. As the old saying goes, its not what you earn, its what you take home. What about the make-up of your portfolio? Become more conservative is an all too familiar mantra of advisors. But what does that mean? Does it mean having fewer equities? More bonds? What risk are investors avoiding, and more importantly, what risk is it creating for them? In particular, longevity risk the risk of outliving your savings!

In a traditional portfolio, retiring at the wrong time, which can impact sequence of return risk, can have a disastrous effect on whether or not you have enough money to maintain your standard of living in retirement. Losing money in the first few years of retirement, combined with retirees tending to living longer, or longevity risk, can create a perfect storm for those nearing or in retirement. You must have a plan to mitigate that risk.

By having a formal income distribution plan in place, retirees can address the primary issues surrounding them today such as:

1. What assets to spend in which order

2. Integrating Social Security claiming strategies into an income plan

3. Risk control in a portfolio, including longevity, sequence of return and volatility

4. Low interest rates

5. Taxes

Having a formal income distribution plan in place can potentially help retirees have a more enjoyable retirement.

T. Eric Reich, CIMA, CFP, CLU, ChFC is president and founder of Reich Asset Management and can be reached at 609-486-5073 or eric@reichassetmanagement.com.

Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. Reich Asset Management, LLC is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regard to your individual situation.

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Learn the importance of having an income distribution plan - Press of Atlantic City

"I know I'm mad about you, and all but lost without you, and great affection for you I proclaim.... But baby, there's an issue I just can't remember your name."

So goes the chorus of "I Just Can't Remember Your Name," on the 10-track album, "Senior Song Book" released in November. The lyrics are a humorous nod to a common pain point about aging. After all, the song's writer, Alan R. Tripp, is 102.

What's more, it's Tripp's first album.

"People ask me how did I live so long and have my mind clicking away," he told NPR's "All Things Considered." "The answer is you do not retire from something. You retire to something," said Tripp. "And your life will continue with any luck."

That's exactly what Tripp who has had multiple careers, including as a radio news broadcaster, an advertising executive and a businessman has been doing. Though, for the record, he considers himself "semi-retired," according to a promotional interview he did with his publicist.

Still, Tripp's lastest foray into music production wasn't entirely planned.

When Tripp was 99, he wrote a poem called "Best Old Friends" about the new friendships he had made at Beaumont at Bryn Mawr, the Pennsylvania retirement community where he lives. Marvin Weisbord, 88, who lives at Beaumont too, turned the poem into a song for Tripp's 100th birthday.

That song catalyzed the album. Weisbord plays piano on the album, and the two produced it at a local recording studio.

Marvin Weisbord (L) set a poem his friend, Alan Tripp, wrote to music for Tripp's 100th birthday. That catalyzed the album.

Photo courtesy Lisa Schaeffer Photography

Now that the CD has dropped (and is on back-order at CDBaby as of Friday), the centenarian is planning his next move.

"I was writing a book when this thing came up," Tripp told NPR. So that will be his next endeavor.

"It's a mystery book. I've written several other books, but never a mystery. So when I'm done with this, back to the computer and write that mystery book," Tripp told NPR. (Tripp published one book in 1992, one in 2006 and a third in 2015.)

Japanese longevity expert, Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, who lived to be 105, also said the key to a long, happy life was to stay active.

"There is no need to ever retire, but if one must, it should be a lot later than 65," Hinohara told The Japan Times in 2009.

From the age of 65, Hinohara worked 18-hour days, seven days a week as a volunteer and "love[d] every minute of it," he said. In fact, he volunteered until the last few months before his death on July 18, 2017, according to The New York Times.

Fashion icon, Iris Apfel, 98, is also still working. She released the book "Accidental Icon" in 2018 and still juggles any number of fashion collaborations, including a line with The Home Shopping Network.

"For me, retirement is a fate worse than death," she told Money in 2018 after her book release. "I've seen so many people, especially in a place like Palm Beach, who worked so hard in their lives, and they come down here cold turkey, and then one day wake up and they realize how vacuous their lives are now. I mean it isn't funny, I've seen it with my own eyes!"

Tripp seems to agree: "If you retire to slothfulness, believe me you'll be a slob," he said in a promotional interview he did with his publicist. "That's all that will happen to you."

See also:

This Japanese longevity expert lived to 105 here's what he ate every day

95-year-old fashion icon Iris Apfel says hard work is her fountain of youth

Iris Apfel: 10 life lessons from a 96-year-old who is probably cooler than you

View post:
How to live a long, productive life, according to a 102-year-old who just released his first album - CNBC

A novel protein signature may have the potential to serve as a biomarker for resistance to Alzheimers disease and cognitive decline, according to a new study with a group of centenarians and their offspring. The researchers found a correlation between 16 proteins found in blood and the 2 form of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. The study, led by investigators at Boston University in collaboration with the NIA Intramural Research Program and Novartis, was reported in Aging Cell.

Having the 2 form of the APOE gene is thought to be neuroprotective, whereas having the 4 form is associated with increased risk of late-onset Alzheimers disease and poor cognitive function. The 2 form, which is much rarer than 4, is more commonly detected among those over 100 years old and their children than in the general population. APOE 2 also seems to promote longevity, but the precise biological mechanisms for it being neuroprotective and promoting long life are not known.

Because recent studies showed that APOE-associated protein products can be found in blood serum samples, the researchers analyzed serum to find the biological products of APOE 2. Serum was collected from 222 people in the NIA-supported New England Centenarian Study, including 51 with APOE 2.

Using a protein profiling platform to analyze several thousand proteins in serum that corresponded to more than 4,000 genes, the researchers found that 16 proteins were associated with different APOE genotypes. They explored the different gene expression profiles of 16 proteins in brains of people with late-onset Alzheimer's disease and healthy controls and showed that the signatures were significantly different between the two groups.

Next, they confirmed their findings by repeating the analysis with serum and plasma samples from other cohort studies. Finally, they examined the association between the 16 proteins and changes in cognitive function in the centenarians and found that seven of these proteins correlate with patterns of cognitive function.

If future studies show that the signature proteins are driving cognitive health, rather than merely being associated with it, these proteins could serve as biomarkers in intervention studies targeting APOE 2. In addition, the protein signature identified in this study could be developed into an early detection test of resistance to developing Alzheimers.

This research was supported in part by the NIA Intramural Research Program; NIA grants U19AG023122, R21AG056630 and R01AG061844; and NIH contracts 263 MD 9164 and 263 MD 821336.

Reference: Sebastiani P, et al. A serum protein signature of APOE genotypes in centenarians. Aging Cell. 2019;18(6):e13023. doi: 10.1111/acel.13023.

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Study with centenarians finds novel protein signature of protective APOE genotype - National Institute on Aging

The fact that Israel has to hold a third election within such a short period of time reflects a grave political crisis. The fact that millions of people will again be exposed to wasteful, inflammatory and uncontrolled advertising campaigns is also far from ideal. And yet, it also carried a reassuring message for everyone who champions healthy democracy.

In fact, Israel must go to the polls again because the system of checks and balances that is the foundation of democracy worked. It prevented, in every manner possible, a situation in which a prime minister who has been charged with criminal offenses, who seeks to escape to the city of refuge of parliamentary immunity, continues to serve.

Killing Palestinians isnt Israels goal. Killing Palestine is. Listen

Since that is exactly what Benjamin Netanyahu attempted and is still attempting to do, it would have been wrong to give in to the natural desire to get it over with that is, to establish any sort of government and return to the appearance of proper governance. The establishment of a government is a means, not an end in itself. It is supposed to reflect the wills and the needs of the voters, and it is not supposed to serve as a refuge for a prime minister who has been charged with criminal offenses.

Therefore, there is also no call for the lamentation and the cries of shame surrounding the failure to form a government. On the contrary: its a badge of honor for the parliamentary immune system, which disgorged from itself the possibility of collaborating with the forces seeking to sabotage Israels democratic infrastructure from within.

Kahol Lavan should be commended for resisting the temptation to join Netanyahu for a promise of half the kingdom, and in so upheld its election-eve promises to its voters. Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman is also deserving of praise, for consistently opposing a narrow immunity government. Amir Peretz of Labor-Gesher should be lauded for keeping his word and for not setting his sights on power for even a moment.

Like a short-circuiting electrical appliance with the potential for disaster, the Knesset dissolved itself after it became clear that its only path forward entailed riding roughshod over fundamental democratic values.

In order to reset the main circuit breaker so as to turn on the light switch once more, all of the political parties that view themselves as guided by the rule of law must join forces and focus on the next election, and tell Netanyahu in the clearest manner possible that his time is up.

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The above article is Haaretzs lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.

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The immune system did its job - Haaretz

News Release

Thursday, December 12, 2019

NIH-funded research suggests changes in the immune system in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

New findings published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggest that specific immune T cells from people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) show disruptions in the way they produce energy. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

This research gives us additional evidence for the role of the immune system in ME/CFS and may provide important clues to help us understand the mechanisms underlying this devastating disease, said Vicky Whittemore, Ph.D., program director at NIHs National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), which partially funded the study.

ME/CFS is a severe, chronic, and debilitating disease that can cause a range of symptoms including pain, severe exhaustion, cognitive impairment, and post-exertional malaise, the worsening of symptoms after physical or mental activity. Estimates suggest that between 836,000 and 2.5 million people in the United States may be affected by ME/CFS. It is unknown what causes the disease and there are no treatments.

Research by Alexandra Mandarano and collaborators in the laboratory of Maureen Hanson, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology and genetics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, examined biochemical reactions involved in energy production, or metabolism, in two specific types of immune cells obtained from 45 healthy controls and 53 people with ME/CFS. Investigators focused on CD4 T cells, which alert other immune cells about invading pathogens, and CD8 T cells, which attack infected cells. Dr. Hansons team used state-of-the-art methods to look at energy production by the mitochondria within T cells, when the cells were in a resting state and after they had been activated. Mitochondria are biological powerhouses and create most of the energy that drives cells.

Dr. Hanson and her colleagues did not see significant differences in mitochondrial respiration, the cells primary energy-producing method, between healthy and ME/CFS cells at rest or after activation. However, results suggest that glycolysis, a less efficient method of energy production, may be disrupted in ME/CFS. Compared to healthy cells, CD4 and CD8 cells from people with ME/CFS had decreased levels of glycolysis at rest. In addition, ME/CFS CD8 cells had lower levels of glycolysis after activation.

Our work demonstrates the importance of looking at particular types of immune cells that have different jobs to do, rather than looking at them all mixed together, which can hide problems specific to particular cells, said Dr. Hanson. Additional studies focusing on specific cell types will be important to unravel whats gone wrong with immune defenses in ME/CFS.

Dr. Hansons group also looked at mitochondrial size and membrane potential, which can indicate the health of T cell mitochondria. CD4 cells from healthy controls and people with ME/CFS showed no significant differences in mitochondrial size nor function. CD8 cells from people with ME/CFS showed decreased membrane potential compared to healthy cells during both resting and activated states.

Dr. Hansons team examined associations between cytokines, chemical messengers that send instructions from one cell to another, and T cell metabolism. The findings revealed different, and often opposite, patterns between healthy and ME/CFS cells, suggesting changes in the immune system. In addition, the presence of cytokines that cause inflammation unexpectedly correlated with decreased metabolism in T cells.

This study was supported in part by the NIHs ME/CFS Collaborative Research Network, a consortium supported by multiple institutes and centers at NIH, consisting of three collaborative research centers and a data management coordinating center. The research network was established in 2017 to help advance research on ME/CFS.

In addition to providing valuable insights into the immunology of ME/CFS, we hope that the results coming out of the collaborative research network will inspire more researchers, particularly those in the early stages of their careers, to work on this disease, said Joseph Breen, Ph.D., section chief, Immunoregulation Section, Basic Immunology Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which partially funded the study.

Future research studies will examine metabolism in other subsets of immune cells. In addition, researchers will investigate ways in which changes in metabolism affect the activity of T cells.

This study was supported by NINDS grant U54NS105541, NIAID grant R21AI117595, Simmaron Research, and an anonymous private donor.

NINDS (https://www.ninds.nih.gov/) is the nations leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system.The mission of NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIHTurning Discovery Into Health

Mandarano et al. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients exhibit altered T cell metabolism and cytokine associations, Journal of Clinical Investigation. December 12, 2019

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Study finds differences in energy use by immune cells in ME/CFS - National Institutes of Health

The antibiotic vancomycin alters the gut microbiome in a way that can help prime the immune system to more effectively attack tumor cells after radiation therapy. A new study in mice from researchers at theAbramson Cancer Center found giving a dose of the common antibiotic not only helped immune cells kill tumors that were directly treated with radiation, but also kill cancer cells that were further away in the body, paving the way for researchers to test the approach in a human clinical trial. The findings are published inTheJournal of Clinical Investigation.

In recent years, multiple studies have shown that giving patients higher doses of radiation over the course of fewer treatmentscalled hypo-fractionated radiotherapycan induce a stronger immune response in patients. In addition, hypo-fractionated doses have the ability to impact other tumors cells in the body that werent directly treated with radiation. This is known as the abscopal effect.

Our study shows that vancomycin seems to boost the effect of the hypo-fractionated radiation itself on the targeted tumor site while also aiding the abscopal effect, helping the immune system fight tumors away from the treatment site, says the studys senior authorAndrea Facciabene, an associate professor of radiation oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine.

Facciabene and his team chose vancomycin for a few specific reasons. First, it mostly targets gram-positive bacteria, making it disruptive to the gut microbiome. Second, its a large molecule, which means it stays in the gut and does not circulate to the rest of the body the way other antibiotics do. The fact that it is not systemic limits the impact it has on the rest of the bodys microbiome.

Read more at Penn Medicine News.

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The new tool in fighting cancer: Antibiotics - Penn: Office of University Communications

A specific fragment of a protein secreted by the parasitic worm liver fluke (Fasciola) has been found to protect the articular cartilage of joints from being destroyed by the bodys aberrant immune system, thus preventing rheumatoid arthritis from progressing. Besides protecting the cartilage from further destruction, the team of researchers from the Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR-CDRI) also found that the protein prevented the joint bone from being destroyed. In rheumatoid arthritis, the joint bone starts getting destroyed following cartilage destruction.

Liver flukes secrete certain specialised proteins that help the parasites to evade recognition by the host immune system and also blunt the killing machinery of the immune system by dialling down the inflammatory responses.

The protein Fasciola helminth defence molecule-1 (FhHDM-1) secreted by liver fluke has similarity with a human protein that mitigates inflammatory responses. So the team led by Naibedya Chattopadhyay isolated a specific fragment of this protein having a high anti-inflammatory function. They then synthesised and tested it in a cell culture system followed by animal testing.

The results were published in FASEB Journal.

A mouse model that is vulnerable to rheumatoid arthritis was used for testing the protective effect of the protein. The type-II collagen protein the major component present in the cartilage matrix of the joints but not as a whole protein seen in blood was introduced in large quantities to trigger an autoimmune response. With this, the process of cartilage destruction was set in motion.

Twenty days after introducing the antigen protein to trigger an autoimmune response, the researchers introduced the synthesised peptide every second day to evaluate its potential to protect the collagen from destruction. The peptide rapidly stopped further damage to the cartilage. The cartilage that has already been damaged was not repaired because the damage is irreversible in the case of rheumatoid arthritis, says Yasir Akhtar Khan from the Department of Zoology at the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, and the first author of the paper. Besides preventing cartilage destruction, the peptide also prevented the joint bone from destruction.

The cartilage of animals that only received the type II collagen but not the peptide was completely destroyed by the end of the experiment (46 days), while the cartilage of the treatment group that received the peptide for four weeks was protected from further damage.

The effect of treatment in controlling cartilage destruction was assessed externally during the course of treatment by measuring paw swelling every day. By 25 days of treatment, there was complete abolition of paw swelling compared with the diseased animals that did not receive any treatment, says Dr. Khan. All the animals were sacrificed at the end of 46 days and the joints examined.

There was extensive structural damage to the cartilage in mice that did not receive the peptide. The barrier that insulates the cartilage was destroyed leading to disease progression, he says. In the treatment group, the barrier was intact and comparable to the control group that did not have rheumatoid arthritis. We also did not see any immune cells in the joints of the treated animals.

In contrast to the currently used anti-rheumatic drug (methotrexate), the biggest advantage of using the liver fluke peptide is that it does not produce a wholesale suppression of the immune system. Even the monoclonal antibodies that act against individual inflammatory molecules have inherent problems. For instance, the monoclonal antibodies target and suppress the tumour necrosis factor (TNF alpha), which is the first line of defence against Mycobacterium. In the Indian context, the anti-rheumatic drug and even the monoclonal antibodies that target TNF alpha will leave the person susceptible to infections, including TB.

The liver fluke peptide only produces selective protection to the joints and does not alter the systemic immune system. So the bodys ability to combat bacterial pathogens will remain intact. Dr. Chattopadhyay says. We are yet to study the mechanism of selective joint protection (cartilage and bone) provided by the peptide.

Thus, in the Indian scenario, the peptide that specifically prevents joint inflammation and destruction without affecting the bodys overall immune function might prove a game-changer in treating rheumatoid arthritis if further tests and trials find it effective.

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New molecule for rheumatoid arthritis may be effective in preventing cartilage destruction - The Hindu

Basic ingredients and dietary supplements such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast can have functional properties in the diet and yield satisfactory results when added to feed as active cells (autolysed or hydrolysed) inactive cells or as cell wall components.

It is known that the fermentation environment that will provide the fundamental differences in the final product composition is more important than yeast strain. The strains used in sugarcane processing to obtain ethanol will result in a product with a higher -glucans concentration. Yeast culture goes through numerous fermentation cycles, which makes cell wall denser, resulting in higher carbohydrate rates and lower fat content, making it less digestible in the gastrointestinal tract.

Photo: Henk Riswick

With the restrictions imposed by regulations in Brazil and abroad, as well as the demand of the consumer market for natural and healthy products in animal feed, several alternatives have been tested and used in the animal industry. However, many factors are considered by producers to obtain the highest cost-effectiveness, such as the action of these compounds on animal metabolis.

Natural additives found on the market are capable of providing compounds that stimulate the body to respond more efficiently to the stressful stimuli imposed in the field. Among the options available, ImmunoWall and Hilyses stand out for being natural Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast-based products, with no use restrictions to any animal species.

ImmunoWall is composed of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall and contains a high concentration of -glucans (> 35%) and mannan-oligosaccharides, MOS (~ 20%). Due to the processing conditions to which cells are subjected, the wall becomes denser compared to other yeast cell walls on the market. This yeast cell wall structure is resistant to degradation by digestive tract enzymes and bacteria, and its resistance to digestion in the gastrointestinal tract and fermentation in the large intestine are one of the main criteria for its use as prebiotic. Prebiotics are considered excellent contributors to animal health because they stimulate the immune system and contribute to intestinal mucosa integrity, prevent adhesion of enteropathogenic microorganisms, and have the ability to bind and inactivate mycotoxins in the intestinal lumen.

Mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) is known for its ability to agglutinate pathogens. By providing a binding site for harmful bacteria present in the intestinal tract that have type 1 and 4 fimbriae, MOS prevents the colonisation of pathogens in the intestine. Since -glucans are not digested, trapped bacteria are excreted with faecal material. Importantly, to achieve full functionality, yeast cell walls must have low digestibility in the intestine. -glucans constitute the indigestible portion of the yeast cell wall so that the higher its concentration, the lower yeast cell wall digestibility.

-glucans are considered immunomodulators that improve immune response effectiveness and agility in animals. These polysaccharides are natural and effective stimulants of the innate immune system, and phagocytic cells, when in contact with -glucans, are stimulated, producing cytokines. Cytokine production provokes a chain reaction, improving animal immunity and allowing the body to fight opportunistic infections. One of these immune system reactions is the increased number of goblet cells responsible for mucus production. With increased mucus production and release in the intestinal lumen, the mucosa (villus protection barrier and the medium that allows the action of various enzymes) increases, providing greater protection to intestinal cells and villi.

Dietary nucleotide supplementation has been studied in several species, and although not considered essential nutrients, these additives play an important role in various metabolic processes and, in particular, in some body tissues and stages of animal life characterised by very high energetic demand due to high cell multiplication.

Free nucleosides and nucleotides can be immediately absorbed by enterocytes in the intestine, and are especially important for rapidly multiplying tissues and due to limited de novo synthesis (major nucleotide production pathway), such as intestinal epithelial cells, blood cells, hepatocytes and cells of the immune system. And this occurs especially in animals undergoing fast-growing stages (early stages), reproduction, stress, and challenges.

Hilyses is a great natural choice of exogenous free nucleosides and nucleotides, obtained through the processing of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast used in the fermentation of sugarcane to obtain ethanol. The process consists of cell autolysis (cell membrane rupture), where intracellular content is extravasated, and after this process, some specific enzymes are inserted for hydrolysis (breakdown) of RNA into nucleotides and nucleosides (which form the nitrogenous bases of the structure). This end product is highly digestible as it contains amino acids, peptides, and short-chain polypeptides and glutamine, and is highly recommended for animal nutrition. It also contains mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS, an effective tool against Salmonella and E. coli.) and high levels of -glucans (immunomodulators that stimulate the innate immune system for a faster and more effective response).

Supplementing diets with natural additives that provide support for animals to better respond to the challenges posed by the field is fundamental in farming systems. ImmunoWall and Hilyses act as prophylactic agents, increasing animal resistance, minimising contamination and high mortality rates, and improving weight gain and health. In highly challenging environments, such as in intensive animal production, strengthening the immune system is crucial for greater productivity gains.

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Synergistic use of yeast-based products - All about feed

At the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, MSK investigators presented the latest research on detection and screening methods for people at high risk;immunotherapy for breast cancer;and the underlying causes of resistance to targeted therapies, among other topics.

Here are some of the noteworthy studies that featured contributions from MSK investigators.

Mammography screening has been shown to reduce breast cancer mortality by about 30% in the general population. But in women at an increased risk for the disease, additional imaging is recommended. This group includes people who carry a BRCA or other genetic mutation. Other risk factors include a family or personal history of breast cancer, certain high-risk lesions, or having undergone chest radiation at a young age.

At SABCS, diagnostic radiologist Maxine Jochelson discussed newer imaging technologies and the advantages they have over mammograms alone for detecting cancer in high-risk women. People in the high-risk group may need supplemental imaging to improve early detection, Dr. Jochelson says.

She explains that this approach would incorporate vascular imaging techniques. These methods can highlight areas of increased blood flow, a hallmark of tumor growth. This technology includes MRI and contrast-enhanced mammography. It can find tumors that mammograms may miss. Although vascular imaging costs more and generally takes longer to perform, its use is justified in high-risk women because ofthe increased chance of finding cancer, she says.

Mammograms & Other Types of Breast Exams

Learn about the different types of breast exams that can help detect breast cancer at its earliest stages, before symptoms develop.

Its undisputed that vascular imaging is better at detecting cancers than purely anatomical imaging, Dr. Jochelson adds. She emphasizes the need to fine-tune imaging strategies based on each persons specific risk factors.

Some of the imaging approaches she discussed during her presentation include:

We need to continue improving ways of assessing an individuals risk so we can stratify them and determine which type of imaging will most benefit each patient, Dr. Jochelson says. The true test will be studies to demonstrate that these newer technologies actually save lives.

Immunotherapy that uses genetically engineered cells, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, has proven effective in treating some forms of blood cancer. So far, efforts to create immune cells that can effectively target solid tumors, including breast cancer, have been disappointing. At SABCS, MSK physician-scientist Christopher Klebanoff presented research from his lab on a novel tactic for enabling the immune system to better target and kill breast cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.

We believe a major limiting challenge in successfully developing immunotherapy for breast cancer has been the identification of antigens. These are targets that the immune system can recognize, Dr. Klebanoff explains. Weve become very interested in the possibility that common mutations in breast cancer may produce antigens that can be recognized as foreign by the immune system.

The Klebanoff labs current research focuses on a gene called PIK3CA, which is mutated in about 40 to 45% of hormone receptor-positive breast cancers. It is also mutated in some HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancers. Mutations inPIK3CA cause cancer cells to grow in an uncontrolled manner. In May 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a pill called alpelisib (Piqray), which targets mutations in this gene. However, the drug has the potential for significant side effects, and tumors ultimately develop resistance to this medicine. Dr. Klebanoff and his colleague Smita Chandran, a senior research scientist in his lab and the scientific lead on this study, decided to look for a way to target antigens created by this mutation using immune cells designed to recognize them.

We believe a major limiting challenge in successfully developing immunotherapy for breast cancer has been the identification of antigens.

A challenging aspect of this approach was that mutated PIK3CA is found on the inside of cancer cells, allowing it to hide from many components of the immune system, such as antibodies. Physiological processes present in all cells, including cancer cells, allow mutated PIK3CA to be broken down into shorter fragments and loaded onto a molecular basket, called HLA, which is shuttled to the surface of the cell, Dr. Klebanoff says. This process allows immune cells to functionally look inside of other cells.

The researchers identified a specialized molecule, known as a T cell receptor, that has the ability to recognize this mutated PIK3CA-HLA complex. Immune cells specific for this complex recognize the target cell as being cancerous and destroy it. Healthy cells without the mutation remain untouched. The T cell receptors are matched to a patients unique complement of HLA molecules. As with a stem cell transplant, HLA must be matched for this immunotherapy to be effective.

Right now we are focused on the most common HLA types that are seen in a large proportion of our patients. The big-picture goal is to build a library of T cell receptors that can work in people with different HLA molecules and can target other common cancer mutations, Dr. Chandran explains. This work is still early and so far has only been done in the laboratory and not in humans. We are nonetheless excited about the prospect of working toward developing a more effective and less toxic immunotherapy customized to the genetic attributes of a patients tumor.

CDK4/6 inhibitors are an important class of drugs to treat estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. These drugs stop the growth of breast cancer cells by targeting enzymes that are important in cell division. They are given in addition to hormone therapy. But about 10 to 15% of people who get these drugs dont respond to CDK4/6 inhibitors, and others later develop resistance.

MSK physician-scientist Sarat Chandarlapaty has been studying why this is the case. Understanding this resistance could contribute to the development of new targeted drugs. In December 2018, he published a study that reported on two genes that play a critical role in promoting this resistance. At SABCS, he presented his latest research on this area.

Weve been delving deeper into the role of these genes, as well as others, to try to understand some of the principles that could guide the next generation of therapies, Dr. Chandarlapaty says. By working out these detailed mechanisms, we will have the tools needed to design more potent and selective inhibitors for these refractory breast cancers.

Dr. Chandarlapaty explains that because tumors outsmart CDK4/6 inhibitors in different ways, he doesnt expect to find a one-size-fits-all approach for new drugs. There are some key principles for why these drugs fail, he says. For some tumors, making a more potent drug of the same general class will work. Other tumors bypass the pathway in a way that renders many of the old therapies weve used ineffective. For them, a completely different approach is needed.

Researchers Identify Why Women May Develop Resistance to a New Class of Breast Cancer Drugs

Clues emerge about why promising new breast cancer drugs sometimes dont work and what might be done about it.

Follow this link:
Updates from SABCS 2019: Detection and Screening, Immunotherapy Advances, and Therapy Resistance - On Cancer - Memorial Sloan Kettering

Unpersuaded by hundreds of pleading and occasionally hostile parents, a state Senate panel voted Thursday to eliminate religion as an acceptable reason for New Jersey children to avoid vaccines required for school attendance.

After seven years of stalled efforts to compel better vaccine compliance and a recent reemergence of measles, state lawmakers are moving quickly to end the religious exemption that allowed 14,000 students to decline their shots last year.

The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee approved the bill (A3818) by a 6-4 vote Thursday. Even before the hearing, the measure was listed on Mondays agenda for action by the full 40-member body.

But hundreds of parents amassed outside the Statehouse in Trenton anyway. The crowds started arriving hours before the afternoon hearing. Hundreds of sign-waving, child-toting parents queued up in the first-floor hallway waiting for space inside the committee room. Before the hearing began, the audience recited the Serenity Prayer."

They said they were outraged by what they see as government intrusion in violation of their First Amendment right of religious freedom. They vowed to pull their children out of school or move out of New Jersey.

Alan Weller, president of the New Jersey chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said as doctors, we all have a responsibility to protect...children in schools who cannot be vaccinated because of a compromised immune system.

"Your right to practice religion freely does not include...exposing the community or a child to a communicable disease, Weller said.

Many opponents say they object because embryonic tissue extracted from aborted fetuses in the 1960s is used to make the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Others said they trusted that God had created their bodies strong enough without vaccines.

I love God with my whole heart, said 7-year-old Emelia Walls of Cape May. He made our immune systems perfect. We take really good care of our bodies because that makes God happy."

Emelia, a second-grader, said she would be heartbroken" if the law passed and she had to leave school. I have a bright future ahead of me. I am going to change the world, she said.

Pediatric oncologist Andrew Silverman at Jersey Shore Medical Center asked the committee to consider his 6-year-old leukemia patient, who has undergone aggressive chemotherapy. The boys mother informed him there is a child in his first-grade class who is not vaccinated for religious reasons. Should he go to school?

Silverman said no.

The oncologists in my practice agree, unvaccinated students are a major risk, he said. Its not safe for him to attend school.

The bill would only allow children to seek an exemption for medical reasons. The state Health Department would define which health conditions would qualify, and a physician, advance practice nurse or physician assistant must verify in writing the child had the disqualifying illness, according to the bill. The law would take effect six months after Gov. Phil Murphy signs it, if he does.

The bill gained momentum in January, after a measles outbreak dominated the news. There have been 19 confirmed cases of measles this year in New Jersey, and 1,276 nationwide.

Mary Iuvone | For NJ Advance Med

People attend a hearing on a vaccine bill. The Senate health committee held a hearing on a vaccine bill, which would abolish a parent's right to reject vaccines for their children, at the Statehouse Annex, in Trenton, December 12, 2019.

State Assemblyman Herb Conaway, D-Burlington, a physician who chairs the Assembly Health Committee and bill sponsor, decided to rewrite his bill to call for an outright ban on religious exemptions as measles cases have surfaced. The Assembly changed the text without a public hearing.

After nearly two hours of tearful and bitter debate, the vote was split along party lines, with five Democrats voting yes and four Republicans voting no. Three of the Democrats who voted yes substituted permanent health committee members, raising questions among opponents that they were pulling strings to guarantee the controversial bills passage.

On balance, this is the best route we can take as a society, as a matter of public health and public safety, state Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, the chairman of the committee and a co-sponsor of the bill.

State Sen. Michael Testa, R-Cumberland, voted no, calling the legislation unconstitutional and un-American.

State Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Bergen, said he doesnt oppose vaccines but voted no because I am not going to take away peoples rights.

Even though I would make a different choice from the people in this room, its their right to be wrong, Cardinale said. Its their own right to follow their conscience.

New Jersey would be the sixth state to abolish religious exemptions for childhood vaccines. The five states are California, Maine, Mississippi, New York and West Virginia.

Mary Iuvone | For NJ Advance Media

Dr. Richard Roberts of Lakewood speaks in support of a bill which would abolish a parent's right to reject vaccines for their children based on their religious convictions, He holds a book he published which he said explains how vaccinations do not violate Orthodox Jewish teachings. December 12, 2019.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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N.J. bill to remove religion as reason to avoid vaccinating kids enrages parents at hearing - NJ.com

Cases of the flu are on the rise throughout New York State, as flu season kicked into high gear with the holiday season approaching.

Statewide , during the week ending on Friday, Dec. 7, cases of the flu have risen by 60 percent over the previous week, with 1,839 cases reported by New Yorkers. 4,989 cases have been reported statewide during the current flu season.

In the Metro region - which is considered Long Island, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties - there were 384 cases reported last week.

Locally, on Long Island, 180 new cases were reported, 94 in Nassau County and 86 in Suffolk.

According to health officials, the Department of Public Health uses multiple systems to monitor circulating influenza viruses. During the influenza season, weekly flu updates are posted from October of the current year, through May of the following year. Annual summaries are also posted for comparison. The national flu picture may vary from what we are seeing on a state level.

Flu season kicks off in earnest in October each year, though patients can still be susceptible to certain strains in September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC said that reported cases tend to increase in November before peaking between December and February. Flu season typically lasts through the middle of the spring. The organization estimates that flu has resulted in between 9.2 million and 35.6 million illnesses each year in the United States and several deaths. Of those illnesses, an estimated 9 percent were hospitalized.

It takes approximately two weeks following the vaccination for the antibodies to protect against the flu to develop in the body, so make plans to get vaccinated early in fall, before flu season begins.

CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October, though there is still time to get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout flu season, even into January or later.

According to the CDC, the flu infects the respiratory tract. As the infection progresses, the bodys immune system responds to fight the virus.

"This results in inflammation that can trigger respiratory symptoms such as a cough and sore throat. The immune system response can also trigger fever and cause muscle or body aches. When infected persons cough, sneeze, or talk, they can spread influenza viruses in respiratory droplets to people who are nearby. People might also get flu by touching a contaminated surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth or nose.

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Here's How Many Flu Cases Have Been Reported In Nassau, Suffolk - Rutherford Daily Voice

David Fajgenbaum's life went into overtime the moment a priest read his last rites in November 2010.

At least that's how the Penn Medicine immunologist views his last nine years.

That belief has reshaped the way Fajgenbaum confronts idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease, a rare immune system disorder that has dealt him five life-threatening blows. It's also changed the way he goes about his life.

"When you're in overtime, every second counts. You don't know how much time you have," said Fajgenbaum, a former quarterback at Georgetown University. "It really helps you focus in on what's important and what's not important."

For a while, Fajgenbaum said he "just hoped and prayed" that someone, somewhere, would find a cure and better treatment options for Castleman disease, which kills about 35% of its victims within five years of diagnosis. Then, he realized he might be that person.

That life lesson is among several that Fajgenbaum, 34, recounts in his new memoir, "Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race To Turn Hope Into Action." Fajgenbuam wrote the book partly in hopes of boosting awareness of Castleman disease, which has not gained the notoriety of other rare diseases despite its deadly nature.

"We shouldn't either hopeortake action we should hopeandtake action," Fajgenbaum said. "I'm here on the phone because of that turning point."

Idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease the most severe form of the disorder activates the bodys immune system, releasing an abundance of inflammatory proteins that can shut down the liver, kidneys and bone marrow. Relatively little is known about it.

Fajgenbaum, an assistant professor in Penn Medicine's Translational Medicine and Human Genetics division, has spearheaded efforts to identify more effective treatment options for people with Castleman disease. After all, he recognizes his clock may stop ticking at any moment.

Chemotherapy can keep the disease at bay for a while, but it's not a permanent solution, Fajgenbaum said. Patients tend to relapse after treatment, creating a vicious cycle that he knows all too well.

Thus far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only has approved one treatment siltuximab for Castleman disease. But it only works in about one-third of patients and Fajgenbaum is not one of them.

Fagjenbaum's research and his personal experience eventually led him to sirolimus, an immunosuppressant typically prescribed for kidney transplant patients. Because the drug inhibits activated T-cells, he suspected it might put his disease in remission.

"I knew if I did not start myself on a drug, there was no way I was going to make it," Fajgenbaum said.

Under the supervision of his doctor, Fajgenbaum began taking sirolimus after his last life-threatening hospitalization six years ago. At the time, Fajgenbaum was simply hoping he'd live long enough to marry his girlfriend, Caitlin something he said he once took for granted.

"The pre-overtime mentality is that we have all the time in the world, that if it's meant to be, it's meant to be," Fajgenbaum said. "But the overtime reality is that none of us have all the time in the world. If it's meaningful and important, then that's exactly what you should do."

Since Fajgenbaum began taking sirolimus, his symptoms have not flared up.

Now, he and Caitlin have a daughter, Amelia. And Fajgenbaum is leading clinical trials examining sirolimus' effectiveness against Castleman disease. Like siltuximab, the drug appears it may help some but not all people battling Castleman disease.

That has Fajgenbaum wondering how many other existing drugs have been overlooked as potential treatments for other diseases. It's another lesson that he expands upon in his book.

"Sometimes, solutions can be hiding in plain site," Fajgenbaum said. "This drug I'm on is in my neighborhood CVS all these years and no one had thought to try it. How many other things are like that ... in science or medicine?"

Since writing the book, Fajgenbaum said he has heard from all kinds of people who have faced challenging health diagnoses, whether it's cancer or some other rare disease.

It's definitely moving the needle, Fajgenbaum said. In September, the month the book was published, more people Googled Castleman disease than ever before. And more people have donated funds to the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network, an organization he co-founded to expedite research efforts.

"It's really been, in many ways, therapeutic to be able to share my story, the ups and the downs," Fajgenbaum said. "Even writing it was therapeutic. To bring back some tough memories, to expose them and to face them."

Sometimes, Fajgenbaum said, it's best to face the tough times with a sense of humor. That's a lesson he gained from his late mother, who died of cancer when he was at Georgetown.

Fajgenbaum recalled flying to Raleigh, North Carolina to see his mother after she had a brain tumor removed. He tentatively walked into her room alongside his family, unsure what to expect. He found his mom sitting, her head shaved and partly covered by a gauze wrap.

She pointed to her head and joked that she looked like the Chiquita banana lady.

"It was exactly what we needed," Fajgenbaum said. "It wasn't what my mom needed. She was going through a really tough time. It wasn't going to make her feel better. But she knew that it was going to make us feel better. By making that joke, it kind of relieved everything. It was like, you're still my mom, you're still you."

A few years later, Fajgenbaum found himself walking around the hospital with his father on New Year's Eve. This time, Fajgenbaum was the patient. His stomach was filled with 30 pounds of fluid, the result of his ill-functioning kidneys and liver.

As they passed the family waiting area, they stopped to help a man who was laying on the floor, noticeably drunk. The man thanked Fajgenbaum's father, wishing him and his "pregnant wife" the best of luck.

"We just burst into laughter," Fajgenbaum said. "I turned to my dad and said, 'Man, you've got an ugly wife.'

"If I hadn't had my mom's example ... maybe I would have just burst into tears and gone back to my room. Rather, that's hilarious. This drunk guy thinks I'm a pregnant woman because of the size of my belly."

That moment, nearly nine years ago, came just several weeks into Fajgenbaum's "overtime" session. He's overcome a lot since and learned a great deal. But he knows there's more work to be done for him and for others.

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His life in 'overtime,' Penn doctor races to find better treatments for rare Castleman disease - PhillyVoice.com

ST. LOUIS The blue carpet rolled out Friday night for one of our hometown heroes.

Laila Anderson had her name in lights at the Fox Theatre as they showcased a documentary about her journey.

This die-hard blues fan captivated our hearts with her remarkable journey battling a rare life-threatening disorder, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, or HLH. Immune cells grow out of control and attack the body, causing organ damage.

Laila's journey began two years ago when she started experiencing headaches and vomiting. She went to St. Louis Children's Hospital. Numerous tests and MRIs over the span of a few weeks showed her brain condition was deteriorating.

In September 2018, almost one year after her first symptoms appeared, doctors found out she had HLH. Her immune system was attacking her brain.

Laila is just one of 15 children in the world who have had a solely neurologic manifestation of the disease. The only known treatment for HLH is a bone marrow transplant.

In October 2018, Laila started 10 weeks of chemotherapy to suppress her overactive immune system and prepare for that transplant. She had her transplant in January 2018.

TOWN AND COUNTRY, Mo. - This time last year, Laila Anderson was battling a rare and potentially deadly auto-immune disease. Thursday night, for the very first time, she had the chance to give the donor who saved her life the biggest hug an 11-year-old could muster.

Her tough journey is now taking over the big screen.

Children's Hospital created a documentary called 'Laila: The Next Season,' which dives deeper into her story.

"I'm really excited to show everyone here like what happens behind the scenes, who helped me be here today," Laila said.

The 28-minute film highlights her road to recovery and being the inspiration to the Blues with their own recovery of winning the Stanley Cup.

The movie includes her doctors and Colton Parayko.

"We as a team tried to help her out try to cheer her up. For her, she showed up to our games, cheered us up," Parayko said.

It's a movie highlighting the impact of a little girl's passion to never give up. Inspiring a city in need of a reminder that anything is possible if you just believe.

"I feel like we've taught each other some life lessons, whether it be a battle for your life or a battle to win the Stanley cup. We've all been on the road together and fighting our battles together," Laila said.

The feature will air Saturday, Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. CT before the start of the Blues vs. Blackhawks game.

The film will be made available on the St. Louis Children's Hospital's Youtube Channel about a week after it airs.

MORE LAILA STORIES

RELATED: Laila Anderson tells us what she wants to be when she grows up

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RELATED: 'It's her whole hand' | Laila gets a Blues Stanley Cup Championship ring

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Laila: The Next Season | Behind the scenes of the Laila Anderson documentary premiere - KSDK.com

This past week or so, I have been plagued by a nasty cold. My sickness got me thinking about cold and flu season with Crohn's disease and IBD.Most Crohn's patients manage their disease with some form of medication: steroids, immunosuppressants, immunomodulators, antibiotics, biologics, or another type. These medications can suppress your immune system, making it harder to fight off viruses such as colds or the flu, and increasing the risk of developing pneumonia. Patients with IBD and other chronic conditions are more likely to get sick, and these illnesses can last longer than the "normal" few days. And when IBD patients get sick, they really get sick.The common cold may last a few days, but for patients with Crohns disease or otherwise weakened immune systems, it can persist for weeks and even lead to a flare-up of IBD symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests taking these precautions to avoid illness: wash your hands, wear a face mask when visiting your doctors office or hospital, dress appropriately for the weather, and avoid those who are sick.The flu, or influenza, is a viral infection, and though it shares some symptoms with the common cold, with the flu they are more severe. While an annual flu shot is recommended for most people, IBD patients should be mindful of their suppressed immune systems, which make them more susceptible to infections. IBD patients should get their flu shot as early as possible. My doctors have a

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Cold and Flu Season with Crohn's Disease and IBD - IBD News Today

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a system that allows for real-time observations of individual cells in the colon of a living mouse.

Researchers expect the procedure to allow new investigations into the digestive systems microbiome as well as the causes of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer and their treatments.

The procedure described online today (December 11, 2019) in Nature Communications involves surgically implanting a transparent window into a mouses abdominal skin above the colon. Similar setups are already being used to allow live looks into the detailed inner workings of the brain, spinal cord, liver, lungs and other organs. Imaging a live colon, however, is a slipperier proposition.

A brain doesnt move around a lot, but the colon does, which makes it difficult to get detailed images down to a single cell, said Xiling Shen, the Hawkins Family Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. Weve developed a magnetic system that is strong enough to stabilize the colon in place during imaging to obtain this level of resolution, but can quickly be turned off to allow the colon to move freely.

This video shows green fluorescent colon neurons activated by neurostimulation in real-time. This is the first time that sacral nerve stimulation, an FDA approved therapy for colon motility disorders, has definitively been shown to activate neurons in the colon in live animals, explaining why the therapy might work.

Credit: Xiling Shen, Duke University

Immobilizing the colon for imaging is a tricky task for traditional methods such as glue or stitches. At best they can cause inflammation that would ruin most experiments. At worst they can cause obstructions, which can quickly kill the mouse being studied.

To skirt this issue, Shen developed a magnetic device that looks much like a tiny metal nasal strip and can be safely attached to the colon. A magnetic field snaps the colon into place and keeps it stable during imaging, but once turned off, leaves the colon free to move and function as normal.

A vital organ that houses much of the digestive systems microbiome, the colon can be afflicted by diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, functional gastrointestinal disorders, and cancer. It also plays a key role in regulating the immune system, and can communicate directly with the brain through sacral nerves.

There is a great need to better understand the colon, because it can suffer from so many diseases and plays so many roles with significant health implications, Shen said. In the study, Shen and his colleagues conducted several proof-of-principle experiments that provide starting points for future lines of research.

The researchers first colonized a living mouse colon with E. coli bacteria, derived from Crohns disease patients, that had been tagged with fluorescent proteins. The researchers then showed they could track the migration, growth and decline of the bacteria for more than three days. This ability could help researchers understand not only how antagonistic bacteria afflict the colon, Shen says, but the positive roles probiotics can play and which strains can best help people with gastrointestinal disorders.

In the next experiment, mice were bred with several types of fluorescent immune cells. The researchers then induced inflammation in the colon and carefully watched the activation of these immune cells. Shen says, this approach could be used with various types of immune cells and diseases to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to challenges.

Shen and his colleagues then showed that they could tag and track colon epithelial stem cells associated with colorectal cancer throughout radiation treatment. They also demonstrated that they could watch nerves throughout the colon respond to sacral nerve stimulation, an emerging therapy for treating motility and immune disorders such as functional gastrointestinal disorders and irritable bowel disorder.

While we know electrically stimulating the sacral nerves can alleviate the symptoms of these gastrointestinal disorders, we currently have no idea why or any way to optimize these treatments, Shen said. Being able to see how the colons neurons respond to different waveforms, frequencies and amplitudes of stimulation will be invaluable in making this approach a better option for more patients.

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Reference: An intravital window to image the colon in real time by Nikolai Rakhilin, Aliesha Garrett, Chi-Yong Eom, Katherine Ramos Chavez, David M. Small, Andrea R. Daniel, Melanie M. Kaelberer, Menansili A. Mejooli, Qiang Huang, Shengli Ding, David G. Kirsch, Diego V. Bohrquez, Nozomi Nishimura, Bradley B. Barth and Xiling Shen, 11 December 2019, Nature Communications.DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13699-w

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (R35GM122465, OT2OD023849), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (N66001-15-2-4059) and the National Cancer Institutes (R35CA197616).

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A Real-Time Window Into the Hidden World of the Colon of a Living Animal - SciTechDaily

Washington D.C. : Whenever you suffer fever or infection, the first thing you are referred to is taking antibiotics as these drugs destroy or slow down the growth of bacteria.

Antibiotics also lead to positive effect on human health. A new study has come up with the new benefit of destroying cancer and tumour cells in the body.

The study on mice has found that giving a dose of common antibiotic not only helped immune cells kill tumours that were directly treated with radiation but also kill cancer cells that were further away in the body, paving the way for researchers to test the approach in a human clinical trial.

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

In addition, hypo-fractionated doses have the ability to impact other tumours cells in the body that weren't directly treated with radiation. This is known as the abscopal effect.

The study's senior author Andrea Facciabene, PhD, says: "Our study shows that vancomycin seems to boost the effectiveness of the hypo-fractionated radiation itself on the targeted tumour site while also aiding the abscopal effect, helping the immune system fight tumours away from the treatment site."

In this study, researchers have found vancomycin specifically improved the function of dendritic cells, which are the messenger cells that T-cells rely on to know what to attack.

While researchers used melanoma, lung, and cervical cancer models for this work, they note the approach could have implications for a wide variety of cancer types.

This study also builds off the team's previous research, which showed a similar effect in T-cell therapies, meaning it adds to a growing body of evidence.

"However, what's clear is that antibiotics play a role and can potentially impact treatments and outcomes for cancer patients," adds Facciabene. The researchers are planning a phase one study to translate this approach into the clinic.

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Study suggests taking common antibiotic before radiation may help body fight cancer - ETHealthworld.com

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates released his annual end-of-year book list on Tuesday.

"I think they're all solid choices to help wrap up your 2019 or start 2020 on a good note," the avid reader writes on his blog, Gates Notes.

For a productive start to the new decade, crack open one of Gates's favorites this holiday season.

Bill Gates' 2019 holiday book list

Source: Gates Notes

This New York Times bestseller tells the story of newlyweds Roy and Celestial, a young black couple whose lives are upturned when Roy is wrongly convicted of rape and sentened to 12 years in prison.

Tayari Jones's novel is "fundamentally a story about how incarceration hurts more than just the person locked up," writes Gates. "It's also a reminder of how draconian our criminal justice system can be especially for black men like Roy."

It's not "a light, easy read," he notes, "but it's so well-written that you'll find yourself sucked into it despite the heavy subject matter."

Read Gates's full review of "An American Marriage."

In "These Truths," Harvard historian Jill Lepore covers centuries of American history in about 800 pages.

The one-volume history "is not a deep or comprehensive account of individual events or people," says Gates. Rather, the author offers "quick glimpses at major events such as America's first presidential impeachment (only three sentences) and doesn't even get a chance to mention pivotal figures such as Lewis and Clark."

He praises it as "the most honest account of the American story I've ever read."

Read Gates's full review of "These Truths."

Written by one of Gates's favorite authors, Czech-Canadian professor Vaclav Smil, "Growth" is "a brilliant synthesis of everything we can learn from patterns of growth in the natural and human-made world," says Gates. Though, "it's not for everyone," he adds. "Long sections read like a textbook or engineering manual."

But if you stick it out, you may experience what Gates did: "I marveled over all the miracles that modern civilization is built on, including power grids, water systems, air transportation and computing. The book gave me new appreciation for how many smart people had to try things out, make mistakes and eventually succeed."

Read Gates's full review of "Growth."

Author and educator Diane Tavenner is the founder of Summit Public Schools, which has been nationally recognized for its high performance: 99% of Summit students get into a four-year college and Summit graduates finish college at twice the national average.

In her book, she shares the Summit learning philosophy which is built on self-directed learning, project-based learning and mentoring and how to prepare all kids for school and life.

"Much of the book is deeply personal," says Gates. "Diane shares stories of her childhood, growing up in a troubled family. She recounts her years as a young, idealistic teacher and administrator. And she opens up about her own experience as a parent, raising her teenage son, Rett, as he navigates his path to adulthood."

Read Gates's full review of "Prepared."

Gates used to routinely pull all-nighters in the early days of Microsoft. "Once or twice, I stayed up two nights in a row," he recalls. "I knew I wasn't as sharp when I was operating mostly on caffeine and adrenaline, but I was obsessed with my work, and I felt that sleeping a lot was lazy."

After this read, "I realize that my all-nighters, combined with almost never getting eight hours of sleep, took a big toll," he says. Author Matthew Walker, the director of UC Berkeley's Center for Human Sleep Science, "explains how neglecting sleep undercuts your creativity, problem solving, decision-making, learning, memory, heart heath, brain health, mental health, emotional well-being, immune system and even your life span."

Read Gates's full review of "Why We Sleep."

Don't miss: Bill Gates: Here's how to figure out what you'll be world-class at

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The 5 books Bill Gates recommends you read this holiday season - CNBC