StemCell Therapy

There are more than 52 million adults in the United States who suffer from joint inflammation caused by arthritis. Its a disabling condition that is especially prevalent among people over age 50.

Feet are especially susceptible to arthritis; each foot has 33 joints, and there is no way to avoid bearing weight on them.

The Michigan Podiatric Medical Association says symptoms of arthritis in the foot and ankle can include early morning stiffness, limitation in motion of joint, recurring pain or tenderness in any joint, redness or heat in joint, skin changes and swelling in one or more joints.

There is usually no need to endure years of painful ambulation because of arthritic feet, said Dr. Jodie Sengstock, MPMA director of professional relations. Most conditions can be diagnosed and treated either conservatively or surgically by a podiatrist.

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Arthritis of the foot and ankle can be treated in many ways, including physical therapy and exercise, orthotics or specially prescribed shoes, and joint replacement surgery. In addition, anti-inflammatory medication and/or steroid injections into the affected joint may also provide relief.

Obesity is linked to arthritis; when you take a step any step four times your body weight presses on your feet. If you weigh 200 pounds, thats 800 pounds of pressure per inch with every step. The best way to lose weight is to eat smarter.

Although it may seem counterintuitive to move your joints when theyre a source of pain, its still important to keep moving. As you age, you lose 1 percent of muscle mass a year. The more you lose, the more strain you put on your joints because muscles are the joints primary shock absorbers. You can slow that muscle loss with strength exercises. If possible walk 30 minutes a day. If walking is painful, try a stationary bike or water exercise to build strength and endurance.

Debra Kaszubski, Vitality special writer, contributed to this report.

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When it comes to arthritis, feet bear a tremendous weight - The Macomb Daily

WCVB's 5 Investigates Karen Anderson will emcee the Walk to Cure Arthritis this Saturday, June 10 starting at 9am at Canal Park in Cambridge.

Arthritis is the #1 cause of disability in the United States, affecting more than 50 million people. The Arthritis Foundation is committed to finding a cure for the millions of people who suffer from arthritis pain, including 300,000 children and their families.

Join us for the Walk to Cure Arthritis and say Yes to helping create a world where people dont have to struggle to button their shirt, tie their shoe, pick up their child or grandchild or play with their friends. As Champions of Yes, its up to us to make sure that people with arthritis have life changing resources and information to manage their disease, access to the critical medications they need to live full, healthy lives and to accelerate the path to better treatments and a cure through cutting-edge research.

Join the fight and Walk to Cure Arthritis register, fundraise, come together to support each other and walk. Another step, another victory!

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Join 5 Investigates Karen Anderson at the Walk to Cure Arthritis on Saturday, June 10th - WCVB Boston

As part of the 52 Weeks of Public Health campaign, the Kentucky Department of Public Health (DPH), within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), is emphasizing the negative impact of arthritis on people who live in rural areas.

A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that one-third of adults in rural areas have arthritis and that more than one-half of that population is limited in their daily activities by the condition. In Kentucky, more than one million adults have doctor-diagnosed arthritis and more than half (570,000) of those with arthritis live in rural parts of the state. Furthermore, 45 percent of rural working-age adults report that arthritis limits their ability to work.

Many senior centers, local health departments, the University of Kentucky Center of Excellence for Rural Health and YMCAs offer proven exercise and self- management programs that help relieve arthritis pain, said Teri Wood, principal investigator on the CDC Arthritis grant for DPH. Our program is always seeking local organizations already serving rural populations, including churches, county extension agents, veterans service organizations, health care clinics, and community centers that might be able to collaborate to make the small-group versions of these low-cost programs more available.

DPH and the Department for Aging and Independent Living (DAIL), within CHFS, collaborate on arthritis prevention and control to increase access to programs for arthritis management. Programs such as Walk with Ease, Enhance Fitness and the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program as examples of effective arthritis management tools that are available in many communities across the state. More information can be found here: http://www.chfs.ky.gov/dph/info/dpqi/cd/arthritis.htm.

Throughout the planned 52 Weeks of Public Health promotion, DPH will spotlight a specific public health issue. Additional information about the campaign is available on the DPH website: http://chfs.ky.gov/dph/default.htm and will be posted on the CHFS Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/kychfs where Kentuckians are encouraged to like and share posts among their networks of friends.

More information on the impact of arthritis nationwide can be found here: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr.

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One in Three Adults in Rural Areas Have Arthritis | BereaOnline - Berea Online

OSTEOARTHRITIS,a painful condition in which the tissue between bones wears down, frequently affects people in old age and a new study finds that as many as 4 in 10 people may develop the condition in their hands.

Among women, researchers found the lifetime risk was 47 per cent while for men it was about 25 per cent. Obese people also had 11 per cent higher lifetime risk than those who were not obese.

Hand osteoarthritis can cause disability and problems with daily living, but is not often a subject of research, the study team writes in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatology. Past research shows the lifetime risk for arthritis of the knee to be 45 per cent and 25 per cent for the hip, they write.

These findings indicate that symptomatic hand osteoarthritis is very common and affects a substantial proportion of the population in their lifetimes, lead author and epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Jin Qin told Reuters Health.

The researchers analysed data from a study of more than 2,000 people over age 45. The study collected data between 1999 and 2010, using self-reports of arthritis symptoms and X-ray images of the participants hands.

Based on this group, researchers estimated the proportion of people who will develop osteoarthritis in at least one hand by age 85 to be 39.8 per cent.

White people were at greater risk, at 41 per cent, for hand osteoarthritis than black people, with 29 per cent. Obese people had a lifetime risk of 47 per cent, compared to 36 per cent among the non-obese.

Some people with hand osteoarthritis have minimal or no symptoms. But for many, symptomatic hand osteoarthritis greatly affects their everyday lives, with few options for improving their symptoms, Dr. Fiona Watt, a research lecturer and honorary consultant rheumatologist at the University of Oxford told Reuters Health.

The pain can vary and tends to be worse the more people use their hands, flaring up during daily activity like carrying heavy shopping bags or typing on keyboards or phones, said Watt, who was not involved in the study.

Our hands are so important and we need to look after them, Watt said, adding that doing aerobic exercise and watching our weight can help protect against all types of osteoarthritis.

We know that injury can increase the risk of osteoarthritis, Watt said. Although we cant always prevent hand injuries, wearing supporting and protective gloves in occupations with heavy use of the hand is important.

Preventing injuries and maintaining a healthy weight may lower the risk of osteoarthritis, Qin said. Earlier diagnosis allows earlier use of interventions (e.g. physical/occupational therapy), that may help manage symptoms, maintain better function and improve quality of life.

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40 per cent lifetime risk of hand arthritis - RTN Newspaper

Experimental arthritis FLIPping the switch on macrophages Nature.com Reducing the expression of anti-apoptosis molecule FLICE-like inhibitory protein (FLIP, also known as CASP8 and FADD-like apoptosis regulator) in macrophages could protect against inflammatory arthritis, according to new findings published in Arthritis ...

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Experimental arthritis FLIPping the switch on macrophages - Nature.com

Walk into any gym, step onto any basketball or tennis court, or even take a look at the person jogging or walking down your street, and youll likely to see an assortment of braces or support aids on older (and younger) individuals.

One of the most common areas youll see this equipment is on the knee.

Knee pain is one of the most common conditions I see as a physical therapist. Often I see people after knee replacement. However, I also see people with knee pain due to osteoarthritis before surgery.

Knee osteoarthritis is a common condition and is one of the five most disabling conditions in the U.S., affecting more than a third of people over 65 years of age. Sometimes, knee pain due to arthritis will lead to the use an assistive device, such as a cane or walker, and eventually knee replacement surgery.

Chronic knee pain due to arthritis is characterized by pain, cartilage degeneration and joint space narrowing. When patients are referred to physical therapy for arthritis relief, they often dont understand how physical therapy can help. After all, if there is cartilage degeneration and joint space narrowing, wouldnt more movement just make the arthritis worse?

Fortunately, as Ive discussed at length before, the body is much more complex than that. In fact, the 2008 guidelines from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommend exercise as the core treatment for osteoarthritis.

As the saying goes in physical therapy, "Movement is medicine."

The right type of exercise in the appropriate dosage and intensity can help "lubricate" the joint, improve muscle strength, improve joint motion and decrease joint pain. Osteoarthritis is associated with decreased muscle strength and abnormal joint mechanics.

A 2012 review in the journal Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation reviewed resistance training interventions on knee osteoarthritis and found some studies showing up to a 43 percent reduction in pain with appropriate resistance training.

Physical therapy, and specifically resistance training, works to improve joint mechanics and muscle activation patterns. In the physical therapy clinic, the typical culprits for weakness I see are the muscles of the thigh and the hips. So my treatment usually starts with exercises targeting the thigh muscles, both quads and hamstrings, as well as the muscles that move your leg back (hip extension) and to the side (hip abduction). The hip muscles actually help control the position of the knee during functional activities, so making sure your hips are strong is a good way to help improve knee mechanics.

I also will include some calf (lower leg) strengthening as well.

Next, it's important to help make sure that certain movements, such as squatting and going up and down steps, are performed with good mechanics. This usually means ensuring that when looking at the knee from the front that it stays in line with the second toe when climbing the stairs.

When bending down to sit in a chair or pick something up off the ground, it means that the knees stay outward to remain in line with the toes.

A good test to perform at home to check your mechanics is to stand sideways beside a step and perform a lateral step-up. Keeping the knee in line with toes is often difficult for most people. Often, when people have pain with stairs, fixing the mechanics helps their pain relatively quickly.

Lastly, I like to combine knee/hip strengthening and functional tasks focused on mechanics with a biking activity. It seems the continual motion of the bike helps to lubricate the joint and just helps things move a little better. If you have knee pain due to osteoarthritis, I recommend you get a bike, either recumbent or upright, and ride for 10 to 20 minutes a day to keep the knee joint loose and well-lubricated.

With the right exercises, individuals with mild to moderate osteoarthritis can experience symptom relief, decreased disability, improved function and overall improved health.

These recommendations also apply even if you dont have knee osteoarthritis. As we age, the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis increases, so its likely a good idea to perform biking, leg strengthening and biomechanics training as part of a comprehensive exercise routine.

Show caution when starting new exercises, and if you have any doubt about your mechanics, see your physical therapist for instruction. Dont push through pain with exercises. Start off slow, and progress in weight, reps and biking distance as you are able.

Nick McClary earned his doctor of physical therapy from the University of Tennessee. He is a Georgetown County native and lives and works in Pawleys Island. Send him your health and fitness questions at: nmcclaryDPT@gmail.com.

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Nick McClary column: With arthritis, movement is good medicine - South Strand news

Chondroitin Eases the Pain of Knee Arthritis New York Times As part of the trial, 604 patients with knee arthritis received either the NSAID drug celecoxib (brand name Celebrex, 200 milligrams a day), a dummy pill, or chondroitin (800 milligrams a day), a component of cartilage that cushions the joints and is ...

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Chondroitin Eases the Pain of Knee Arthritis - New York Times

Stem Cell Therapy is poised to change the face of medicine.

Thousands of published studies and or testimonialscan be wrong! Regeneration or Regenerative Medicine has the ability to change almost all facets of medicine.

Doctors are using them on themselves to help with problems and or provide with a better quality of life, in-fact one doctor sais in a recent stem cell seminar that he would be doing them every year just for preventative maintenance.

Stem Cells have been studied for decades however in the past few years a real breakthrough in using Human UmbilicalCell Tissue (HUCT) being harvested from healthy mommy / healthy baby umbilical cords.

Studies have proved that the older you get the fewer stem cells in the body, ruling out the effectiveness of stem cells extracted from your aging body or your fat.

Statin drugs have been proven to diminishstem cells

Using Concentrated Umbilical-Cord Potentcy Stem Cells (CUP STEM CELLS) give you cell counts in the millions ffrom a newborn tht may allow stem cells to duplicate every 28 hours, over 65 or so cucles making CUP STEM CELLS very favorable to all the other options available in the past.

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Stem Cell Therapy - Checkbiotech.org (press release)

wreg.com

How to protect your eyesight this summer wreg.com To protect your eyesight, the most important recommendation you need to follow is to wear sunglasses that block ultraviolet radiation whenever you go outside during daylight hours, according to the National Eye Institute. This is true for everyone, no ... and more »

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How to protect your eyesight this summer - wreg.com

When the eyes of her mice looked normal, Xu Wang was certain she had done something wrong. She was blasting the mice with blinding light to study how a specific gene affected the animals response to eye injury. All the mice were given the drug tamoxifen. Half were engineered to respond to the drug by disabling the gene a step that would protect their eyes. The control mice, with all genes intact, should have lost sight as photo-receptors the light-sensitive cells in the retina died.

Instead, the retinas of the control mice looked just fine. I was kind of despondent because it didnt agree with our hypothesis, Wang says. She and her mentor, Wai Wong, both ophthalmologists at the National Eye Institute in Bethesda, Md., could have started over with another kind of mouse. But they decided to do the test again. And again.

The spared vision was no mistake. Many experiments later, Wang, Wong and colleagues have shown that tamoxifen, a drug used to treat breast cancer, can help preserve photoreceptors and sight in mice with eye injuries.

After exposure to blinding light, injured photoreceptors send distress signals to summon microglia, immune cells that are the first line of defense in the brain and spinal cord. Microglia support photoreceptors by keeping the connections between them intact. But a photoreceptor SOS brings microglia swarming in to destroy damaged photoreceptors, resulting in vision loss. The same happens in progressive genetic vision disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa. The microglias murderous tendencies are meant to protect, but, Wong notes, their enthusiastic efforts can be overkill.

Story continues after images

Exposure to blinding light killed photoreceptor cells in the retinas of mice (left, dying cells colored pink). Animals given tamoxifen before the light (right), had almost no cell death.

When mice ate chow containing tamoxifen (about six to eight times the dose usually given to humans), the microglia didnt overreact and the photoreceptors were spared, the researchers found. Tamoxifen offered the same protection in mice with a form of retinitis pigmentosa. The killing power of microglia can be reduced by tamoxifen and this resulted in protection, Wong says. The group reported its findings in the March 22 Journal of Neuroscience.

The researchers are looking into whether lower doses of the drug can be protective, too. And there are plenty of other questions, such as how exactly tamoxifen protects against microglial malfeasance. Other scientists have shown that tamoxifen and similar drugs might also reduce nerve cell damage in the spinal cord and brain. The drug is widely used to treat women with certain types of breast cancer. But the eyes present their own challenges. In rare cases, tamoxifen has been tied to vision loss in women taking the drug. The scientists didnt see any sign of that in their mice, but Wong is quick to note that mice are not people.

Wang recalls her early days with patients facing blindness. I felt so helpless, she says. I thought, I want to find a way to solve their problems. She has new optimism. It opens a new window, she says. An old drug can be used in a new way.

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Researchers stumble onto a new role for breast cancer drug - Science News

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Hometown Hero's food truck is rolling fundraiser for visually impaired WYTV But Jeff is proof you don't have to have perfect eyesight to have a perfect vision. He considers himself lucky and is giving back to help others through the Foundation for the Visually Impaired which he started in 2010. Jeff used to sell food in ...

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Hometown Hero's food truck is rolling fundraiser for visually impaired - WYTV

More than 420 million people across the world have diabetes. At least 29 million of those individuals are Americans, including an estimated 8 million undiagnosed cases. And prevalence of diabetes is increasing.

Because of the enormous market size, many pharmaceutical companies have developed treatments for the disease. Some of these drugmakers rank as some of the best dividend stocks on the market. AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), and Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) stand out as the top dividend stocks in diabetes treatment, but several others are strong contenders.

Image source: Getty Images.

AstraZeneca markets several diabetes treatments, including Bydureon, Byetta, Farxiga, Kombiglyze, Onglyza, Symlin, and Xigduo.The company's diabetes franchise generated revenue of $2.4 billion last year.

Farxiga is AstraZeneca's No. 1 diabetes medication. Sales for the drug totaled $835 million in 2016, up 70% compared to the prior year. This strong growth knocked Onglyza out of the top spot among the company's diabetes drugs.

AstraZeneca claims an attractive dividend yield of 5.58%. Although the company currently is paying out more in dividends than it's making on the bottom line, the dividend should be relatively safe because AstraZeneca appears to have solid earnings growth prospects in the coming years.

Pfizer doesn't have as significant a presence in the diabetes market as AstraZeneca. The big drugmaker's lineup includes diabetes medications Glucotrol, Glyset, and Micronase.However, none of these drugs generated enough sales to even merit a reference in Pfizer's annual report for 2016.

More revenue in the diabetes market could be in store for Pfizer, though. Pfizer and its development partner, Merck (NYSE:MRK), expect a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) forSGLT2 inhibitorertugliflozin by December 2017. The type 2 diabetes drug is expected to reach peak sales topping $1 billion.

Pfizer has long been a favorite among dividend investors. It should be still, with a solid yield of 3.98%. Like AstraZeneca, Pfizer has a dividend payout ratio of just over 100%. While that's not good, it probably will only be temporary. Pfizer should experience reasonable earnings growth in the near future, thanks in part to new products gained with several acquisitions made over the past few years.

Sanofi is a major player in the global diabetes market, with products such as Lantus, Amaryl, Apidra, Toujeo, Insuman, Lyxumia, and Soliqua. Lantus is Sanofi's top-selling product in its diabetes franchise and overall. It's also the No.1 insulin brand in the world.

A major challenge for Sanofi is that sales of Lantus are slipping due to generic competition. Sales for Toujeo, however, are soaring and have largely offset the decline for Lantus. Soliqua should also help. The drug gained U.S. approval in late 2016 and is expected to generate peak annual sales of around $1.5 billion.In addition, Sanofi has a couple of promising late-stage diabetes candidates in its pipeline.

Sanofi's dividend currently yields 3.21%. Its payout ratio of 86% is relatively high, but the dividend doesn't appear to be in significant jeopardy right now.

There are other drugmakers in the diabetes market with dividend yields that aren't too far behind those of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Sanofi. Merck, which markets Janumet and Januvia, claims a yield of 2.94%. Bristol-Myers Squibb, developer of diabetes drug Farxiga, sports a dividend yield of 2.9%.

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) also sells a diabetes drug, Tanzeum. The drugmaker's dividend yield of 4.55% would rank the stock second behind AstraZeneca. However, GlaxoSmithKline's payout ratio is a whopping 225%. There is significant reason to worry that Glaxo's dividend could be slashed in the future.

Still, investors looking for great dividend stocks in the diabetes market have plenty of options from which to choose. AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Sanofi can deliver high yields and dividend checks that should keep on flowing well into the future.

Keith Speights owns shares of Pfizer. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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3 Top Dividend Stocks in Diabetes Treatment - Motley Fool

Xconomy Texas

San Antonio Most diabetes treatments work by giving the body the insulin it needs to break down sugar. But that approach deals with the symptoms of diabetes. In recent years, scientists and companies have taken aim at the root cause of the condition by attempting to stimulate or replace the cells in the pancreas responsible for producing insulin in the first place. One of them is a San Antonio researcher hoping to use gene therapya potentially one-time, long lasting treatmentto do the trick.

When cells in the pancreas, known as beta cells, either get destroyed by the immune system or stop producing enough insulin, the result is type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Companies large and small-from European diabetes drug giant Novo Nordisk to privately held startups ViaCyte, of San Diego, and Semma Therapeutics, of Cambridge, MAwant to engineer stem cells that develop into pancreatic beta cells to help a patient produce insulin.

Other researchers, such as Bruno Doiron, a scientist and assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, have different ideas. Doiron has developed an injectible treatment consisting of three molecules glucokinase, a second that targets a protein known as PTP1B, and a third that targets a protein called Pdx-1, a so-called transcription factor that regulates genesthat, when infused into the body, are meant to help stimulate the formation of new beta cells. Doiron has tried the method on mice, and based on some encouraging early results, intends to move the work forward through a startup company.

You have to prove you can translate that to a large animal model, he says.

The San Antonio company, Syner-III, got its name because of the synergistic use of three molecules to generate the beta cells, he says. Those molecules are administered via a gene therapy procedure: theyre stuffed into a modified virus and injected directly into the pancreas in a one-time treatment, where they are meant to stimulate beta cell production. The work was published in the peer-reviewed journal Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in 2016.

Doiron hopes to raise as much as $10 million to complete preclinical testing.

Others, including Novartis, are considering different ways of boosting beta cell production. Researchers from the Swiss company published findings in Nature Communications that showed a group of compounds called aminopyrazines could be packed into a pill and similarly lead to more beta cells, and more insulin, in mice. Such attempts are fraught with failure, however. In an article on its own website, Novartis notes that researchers have succeeded in producing beta cells in mice many times, but havent been able to reproduce those results in humans.

The potential payoff, however, is huge. Some 29.1 million Americans have diabetes, and 1.25 million of them have type 1 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Doiron believes the therapy may be able to help both types. While stem cell research has had its share of failures and competition continues to increase in insulin therapysuch as pumps that automatically deliver the treatmentDoiron says a gene therapy, if successful, could result in a longer-lasting, more effective treatment.

When I use your own body to produce medicine, that drastically changes the field, he says.

David Holley is Xconomy's national correspondent based in Austin, TX. You can reach him at dholley@xconomy.com

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With Gene Therapy for Diabetes, San Antonio Researcher Eyes Funding - Xconomy

Hightower hosts women impacted by diabetes at Wonder Woman screening

FOXBORO -- Dont'a Hightower doesn't love the spotlight. He's taken a pass on Super Bowl parades and White House visits. He's not a bigpitch man or someone whowill wait at his locker to see waves of reporters headed for him with microphones at the ready.

But on Tuesday night Hightower made an exception when he hosted women whose lives have been impacted by diabetes at Showcase Cinema de Lux Patriot Place for a VIP screening of the movie Wonder Woman, which hits theaters on June 2.

Hightower'smom, L'Tanya, was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago and she has encouraged her son, the Patriots linebacker, to help raise awareness and funds to fight the disease. He hosts an annual fundraiserto support the American Diabetes Association and has represented the ADA on Capitol Hill.

"My mom was definitely a big pillar, and [marketing director]Julia [Lauria]and a lot of people at SportsTrust have definitely pushed me in the right direction to step outside my comfort zone," Hightower said. "I'm not a big media public person, so I don't get to necessarily put my character and my personality out there, but I definitely don't mind, especially with a cause as good as this, to get out there and use my platform to try to promote awareness."

L'Tanya couldn't make the event -- she had some gardening back at home to attend to, Hightower said with a smile -- but he'll be back in Tennessee later this offseason to spend some time with her before the start of training camp.

"I go back home and see my mom each and every week, my mom and my sister," Hightower said. "I try to spend as much time with family and close friends that I don't get to see throughout the season that can't come up here. Any time I'm back home, I don't do too much. I'm not a big out there person. So I'm usually at home with my family and friends."

Hightower was part of a group of Patriots who were not on the field for last week's optional OTA practice that was open to the media, but he said that he's looking forward to getting back on the field eventually.

"When the time comes, yeah," he said, "but I'm enjoying my offseason while I can."

FOXBORO -- James White is used to sharing. In high school, he split carries with Bengals running back Gio Bernard for powerhouse program St. Thomas Aquinas in South Florida. In college, at Wisconsin, he ceded work to future NFL backs John Clay, Montee Ball and Melvin Gordon.

In New England, he wasn't counted on to be an every-down back until Super Bowl LI when Dion Lewis suffered a leg injury at the end of regulation and the Patriots were in the midst of the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

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In 2017, he's expected to be sharing once again. Though he looks like the front-runner for the team's sub-back work, Lewis is back in the fold and the Patriots added both Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead to the mix. Second-year pro DJ Foster and special-teams maven Brandon Bolden could also compete for touches.

None of that bothers White, who signed a three-year extension this offseason.

"For me,ever since college and Little League,I've always had other guys in the backfield so just make the most of your opportunities," he said of his approach. "Everybody's going to have a role. You may play one play one game. You may play 60 plays one game. Just be ready for the moment when your number's called."

White was ready for his moment last season in Houston with his team's fifth Lombardi Trophy on the line. During the comeback, with the Patriots relying on their sub packages as they threw their way back into contention, White responded with the performance of his career. He scored three times, including the game-winner in overtime, and caught a Super Bowl record 14 passes for 110 yards.

Despite adding another ring to the collection in 2016, the Patriots were aggressive in building their roster this offseason. Burkhead was signed to a one-year deal as a well-rounded back after spending the majority of his career in Cincinnati as a special-teamer behind Bernard and Jeremy Hill on the Bengals running back depth chart. Bill Belichick and his front office also handed their fifth-round pick to the Bills in order to sign Gillislee as a restricted free agent.

Both have impressed White in their short time with the Patriots thus far.

"They fit in very well," White said. "You gotta welcome the guys in. You never know who's going to be here so you get around those guys, help them learn the offense, let them know how we work here, let them get a feel for this system so that they're comfortable and they feel at home . . .

"They're both good football players. I've watched those guys since college. It's great to have more competition here. It's going to bring the best out of each and every player. I think competition brings the best out of you. You compete with each and every one of those guys that we have, and I think it'll make the team better."

FOXBORO -- James White wasn't necessarily seeking out a new deal. He wasn't banging on the office doors of Bill Belichick, Nick Caserio or Robert Kraft for a second contract. But when the team came to him with a proposal, he didn't turn it down.

"It was a surprising development," White said Wednesday. "I was just gonna come out and work hard, and they brought the offer to me, andI accepted. But at the same time, that's not gonna change who I am. I'm gonna continue to work and continue to do whatever this team asks me to do and follow the lead of all our leaders and the coaches."

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White signed a three-year contract extension with the Patriots back in April, a little more than two months after he had the game of his life in Super Bowl LI. He caught a Super Bowl record 14 passes for 110 yardsscored three times, includingthe game-winning touchdown in overtime to complete the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

Under his original deal, White was scheduled to earn $690,000 in 2017 as the final year of his four-year rookie pact. With his new contract, he was given a $4 million signing bonus and base salaries of $1 million, $2.5 million and $3 million in 2018, 2019 and 2020. He also has the opportunity to make up to $500,000in roster bonuses for each of those three years.

"Definitely nice," White said of the security he's been afforded."But at the same time, you still have to work. Nothing's for certain. You have to go out there and prove yourself each and every day. I just want to continue to work and continue to improve each and every day."

White is the frontrunner to serve as the team's sub back again in 2017. Primarily a weapon to be used on passing downs due to his hands, his route-running ability, and his understanding of pass-protection schemes, White proved in the Super Bowl that he can also serve as more of a traditionalrunner out of the backfield when needed.

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Hightower hosts women impacted by diabetes at Wonder Woman screening - Comcast SportsNet New England

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Methodist Healthcare is using lifestyle coaches to help patients reduce their risks of developing type 2 diabetes.

The disease affects the way the body processes insulin and blood sugar, and can lead to serious health problems like kidney damage, nerve damage, the need for amputation or blindness.

At Methodist, patients at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes can take part in free group meetings with a lifestyle coach.

They year-long program is designed to teach them how to eat better and lose weight.

When people are prediabetic, weight loss is one of the most important things we can modify during that stage. What we want to concentrate on is developing healthier eating habits overall rather than dieting. If you can develop healthy habits that`s something you can sustain for a longer time, said Dr. Lindsey French.

The Centers for Disease Control said you can cut in half your risk of developing the disease by losing five to seven percent of your body weight, improving food choices and increasing physical activity to at least 150 minutes per week.

For more information on the Diabetes Prevention Program call (901) 516-6616.

Quiz: Could you have prediabetes?

35.149534 -90.048980

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Methodist Healthcare lifestyle coaches help reduce risk of type 2 diabetes - wreg.com

FOXBORO -- Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower is continuing to do right by his mother, as he hosted another event tonight to raise awareness for diabetes.

Hightower hosted a private screening of Wonder Woman at Patriot Place for a group of women who face daily struggles with diabetes. Its a cause that has been personal for Hightower, whose mother, LTanya, was diagnosed with diabetes a couple years ago. His grandmother and aunt have also been affected.

My mom is my Wonder Woman, so what better movie to do it to? Hightower said.

Hightower has also hosted annual Monday Night Football watch parties since 2015 to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. Despite Hightowers loud presence in a Patriots uniform, he tries to stay out of the spotlight off the field, but his mother has encouraged him to put a face to the fight against diabetes

My mom is obviously the reason why Im here, Hightower said. She made a lot of sacrifices for me and my sister. Ever since shes gotten diagnosed with diabetes, Ive tried to do as much as I could to try to promote awareness and do what I can for it. The opportunity came up, and I couldnt say no to it.

Im still not a big public person. I dont mind doing what Im doing. A lot of people appreciate it. At the end of the day, thats all that matters so I dont mind stepping out of my comfort zone for a little bit.

Hightower watched his mother struggle with daily activities upon her diagnosis, so he has tried to promote early testing to get out ahead of the disease. He knows those early tests can ease the transitional phase for diabetic patients.

I know how hard it is to see and feel that change in the life that they go through, Hightower said. If I can change one or two peoples chances in that, it means a lot more to me than youll ever know.

Hightowers mother attended his Monday Night Football watch party last season in Norwood, but she stayed home Tuesday night to tend to her gardening. Hightower got a kick out of that, but there was also a sense of pride because she couldnt handle those household responsibilities a couple years ago.

I guess her lawn was more important, Hightower cracked. She is able to do stuff like that now. Earlier when she got diagnosed, she wasnt able to. She is doing well. She is healthy. Thats all I can ask for.

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Dont'a Hightower supports mom by rallying awareness for fight vs ... - Boston Herald

The real estate industry will be holding its second annual JDRF Real Estate Games at Chelsea Piers to raise money to fund Type One diabetes (T1D) research.

Jim Whelan, an executive vice president of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), who is also on the local JDRF chapters board of directors, is once again organizing the June 15 event.

Real Estate is a competitive industry and this is a different way to exhibit that competition, said Whelan, whose teenager, Jack, was diagnosed with T1D four years ago.

Last year, 19 teams raised over $82,000 and this year $220,00 has already come in.

So far, 20 ten-person teams from the citys top real estate companies have signed on to compete in six events. These include dodgeball, hot shot basketball, a relay race, and a rock climbing relay that last year was won by the REBNY team.

New this year is the challenging sport stacking that uses a dozen cups to see who is really physically fit, and a pass, catch and end zone dance competition that will get bystanders cheering for their favorite quarterbacks and receivers.

The event even has its own hashtag, #JDRFgames.

Teams already involved include AECOM Tishman, Brookfield Properties, The Carlyle Group, Douglaston Development, The Durst Organization, Eastdil Secured, Glenwood Management, Hines, JDS Development Group, JLL, L&M Development Partners, Langan, REBNY, Savills Studley, Silverstein Properties, SL Green Realty Corp., Tishman Speyer, TF Cornerstone, and Two Trees Management Company.

Participants will later stroll to the Sunset Terrace for a networking party.

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Real estate bigs teaming up at Chelsea Piers to fight diabetes | New ... - New York Post

Physicist Stephen Hawking is perhaps the most famous sufferer of motor neuron disease, a crippling degenerative condition that affects an estimated 150,00 people around the world.

Karwai Tang / Getty

In news that may bring hope to Stephen Hawking and hundreds of thousands of others around the world, British scientists have used reprogrammed skin cells to study the development of motor neuron disease.

Its like changing the postcode of a house without actually moving it, explains neuroscientist Rickie Patani, referring to research offering startling new insights into the progress and treatment of the crippling degenerative condition, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Patani, together with colleague Sonia Gandhi, both from the Francis Crick Institute and University College London, in the UK, led a team of researchers investigating how the disease destroys the nerve cells that govern muscle movement.

The results, published in the journal Cell Reports, comprise the most fine-grained work to date on how ALS operates on a molecular level and suggest powerful new treatment methods based on stem cells.

Indeed, so exciting are the implications of the research that Ghandi and Patani are already working with pharmaceutical companies to develop their discoveries.

The neurologists uncovered two key interlinked interactions in the development of motor neuron disease, the first concerning a particular protein, and the second concerning an auxiliary nerve cell type called astrocytes.

To make their findings, the team developed stem cells from the skin of healthy volunteers and a cohort carrying a genetic mutation that leads to ALS. The stem cells were then guided into becoming motor neurons and astrocytes.

We manipulated the cells using insights from developmental biology, so that they closely resembled a specific part of the spinal cord from which motor neurons arise, says Patani.

We were able to create pure, high-quality samples of motor neurons and astrocytes which accurately represent the cells affected in patients with ALS."

The scientists then closely monitored the two sets of cells healthy and mutated to see how their functioning differed over time.

The first thing they noted was that a particular protein TDP-43 behaved differently. In the patient-derived samples TDP-43 leaked out of the cell nucleus, catalysing a damaging chain of events inside the cell and causing it to die.

The observation provided a powerful insight into the molecular mechanics of motor neuron disease.

Knowing when things go wrong inside a cell, and in what sequence, is a useful approach to define the critical molecular event in disease, says Ghandi.

One therapeutic approach to stop sick motor neurons from dying could be to prevent proteins like TDP-43 from leaving the nucleus, or try to move them back.

The second critical insight was derived from the behaviour of astrocytes, which turned out to function as a kind of nursemaid, supporting motor neuron cells when they began to lose function because of protein leakage.

During the progression of motor neuron disease, however, the astrocytes like nurses during an Ebola outbreak eventually fell ill themselves and died, hastening the death of the neurons.

To test this, the team did a type of mix and match exercise, concocting various combinations of neurons and astrocytes from healthy and diseased tissue.

They discovered that healthy astrocytes could prolong the functional life of ALS-affected motor neurons, but damaged astrocytes struggled to keep even healthy motor neurons functioning.

The research reveals both TDP-43 and astrocytes as key therapeutic targets, raising the possibility that the progress of ALS might be significantly slowed, or perhaps even halted.

Our work, along with other studies of ageing and neurodegeneration, would suggest that the cross-talk between neurons and their supporting cells is crucial in the development and progression of ALS, says Patani.

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Patients' stem cells point to potential treatments for motor | Cosmos - Cosmos

May 31, 2017 Researchers from the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and the National Cancer Centre Singapore who discovered the approach of using patients stem cells to test for side effects of drugs. From left: Hanry Yu, Min-Han Tan and Ravindran Kanesvaran. Credit: A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology

Severe illnesses sometimes require treatment regimens carrying grave risks, including organ failure. Now, a non-invasive technique developed at A*STAR could help predict patient vulnerability to potentially toxic drugs.

Therapeutics can induce organ damage via mechanisms that vary between individuals. These idiosyncratic drug reactions are a common reason for the withdrawal of new drugs, and can be a significant problem during disease treatment.

Research led by Min-Han Tan and Hanry Yu from the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, and National Cancer Centre shows how cells derived from a patient's blood offer the first opportunity to test an individual's susceptibility to idiosyncratic liver damage, known as hepatotoxicity; in this case, from the cancer drug, pazopanib.

Currently there is no easy way to predict idiosyncratic harm from the drug, "Pazopanib causes idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity, and liver biopsies are not commonly undertaken due to their invasive nature and potential risks," says Tan.

The researchers took white blood cells from five patients receiving pazopanib for metastatic renal cell cancer, three of whom exhibited hepatotoxicity. They converted these white blood cells into stem cells, and then into 'hepatocyte-like cells' (HLCs). This created a population of cells that retained the genetics and morphology of each patient's native liver cells, without the risks of a biopsy. The stem cells were then treated with pazopanib.

After 24 hours, the HLCs taken from the three patients exhibiting hepatotoxicity also experienced significantly more cell death than those from the two patients without liver damage. This validated that the test can model the individually-mediated effects of pazopanib on the liver.

"Currently, new drugs are tested for toxicity using generic liver cells, which cannot model patient-specific reaction. Establishing patient-specific HLCs with characteristics that are representative of genetic variation will be valuable for pharmaceutical drug testing," says Yu.

The team also discovered the mechanism by which pazopanib causes injury by evaluating the changes in HLC gene expression following drug administration. In cells from both groups of patients, gene expression changes indicated a response to drug-induced stress. HLCs from hepatotoxicity-susceptible individuals, however, also showed evidence of differential iron metabolism as well as other genetic variations from non-susceptible HLCs. This probably contributes to the greater levels of cellular damage and death and provides the first experimental evidence of pazopanib's mechanism of action in idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity.

Tan hopes his team's research could be used in future to predict an individual's response to a proposed treatment. "We plan to expand the approach to different drugs and organs, and determine the nature of drug toxicity," explains Tan. "Our ultimate goal is to benefit patients and clinicians by gaining a better understanding of toxicity."

Explore further: Toxic liver effects of fifteen drugs predicted using computational approach

More information: Yukti Choudhury et al. Patient-specific hepatocyte-like cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells model pazopanib-mediated hepatotoxicity, Scientific Reports (2017). DOI: 10.1038/srep41238

Researchers from Monash University have developed a new drug delivery strategy able to block pain within the nerve cells, in what could be a major development of an immediate and long lasting treatment for pain.

Can a fish with a malformed jaw tell us something about hearing loss in mice and humans? The answer is yes, according to a new publication in Scientific Reports.

A newly developed tissue scanner allows looking under the skin of psoriasis patients. This provides clinically relevant information, such as the structure of skin layers and blood vessels, without the need for contrast agents ...

In the average adult human, there are an estimated 100,000 miles of capillaries, veins and arteriesthe plumbing that carries life-sustaining blood to every part of the body, including vital organs such as the heart and ...

Stress changes our eating habits, but the mechanism may not be purely psychological, research in mice suggests. A study published May 30 in Cell Metabolism found that stressed mouse mothers were more likely to give birth ...

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have made a breakthrough in the understanding of how our genetic make-up can impact on the activity of the immune system and our ability to fight cancer.

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Individual adverse drug responses could be predicted by a simple blood test - Medical Xpress

Crime expert: The Lefts Blindness on Terrorism

The Left responded to the Manchester bombing with feckless calls for resisting hate, pledges of renewed diversity and little else, laments Heather Mac Donald at City Journal. Yet nothing that an Islamic terrorist can do will ever shake the left-wing commitment to open borders. Indeed, it seems the real threat that radical Islam poses . . . must be disregarded in order to transform the West by Third World immigration. As for improved anti-terror intelligence, the Left still decries the modest expansions of surveillance power under the 2001 Patriot Act as the work of totalitarianism. But terrorists dont care if an attack is met with candlelight vigils they care if border restrictions and law enforcement make it impossible to destroy lives. They will only have failed when they can no longer slaughter children.

Ex-attorney: Kushners Getting Media Mugged

Todays mainstream news media have turned into the mob as a ruling class, charges Fox News Greg Jarrett. And the latest victim is White House counselor Jared Kushner, whose crime appears to be no crime at all. The fact that he met with two Russian officials has produced mass hysteria in both print and television with no attempts at reasoned analysis, no context of historical precedence. Nearly every single president, he notes, has established and relied on similar back channel contacts and had discussions with foreign governments before taking office, including President Obama. As for Kushner being a focus of the FBIs Russia probe, that simply means the Bureau would like to speak with him. Reporter: Albany Wont Even Fake Ethics Reform

Ever since President Trump fired US Attorney Preet Bharara, Albany lawmakers have breathed a sigh of relief and seemingly stopped pretending to care about ethics reform, notes Ashley Hupfl at City State. This year, Gov. Cuomo proposed the usual ethics reforms he has included for the past few years, but little was done to include them in the state budget. He blames the Legislature, saying its members have no appetite for more. Yet allegations of corruption have continued to dog lawmakers, most recently in the controversy over leadership stipends paid to legislators who dont actually chair their committees. But given Cuomos stance that virtually everything got done in the budget, it appears unlikely there will be any ethics reforms toward the end of the session. Conservative take: Should Insecure Dems Be Coddled?

What do Democrats want? asks Noah Rothman at Commentary. The answer: Nothing so much as to have their assumptions validated. Which is why telling liberals what they want to hear can be a materially rewarding enterprise. Indeed, committed liberal activists do not want to change to meet the moment. Rather, they want an excuse to view their opponents as dangerously outside the mainstream, deserving only of exile. Thats the message Hillary Clinton, for one, is delivering. But not every Democrat is giving in to their partys darkest, most self-destructive impulses. Like Sen. Cory Booker, whose refusal to leap to the firm conclusion that the presidency has been sold to Moscow and that all thats preventing impeachment proceedings is the congressional GOPs cowardice is, in a way, an act of courage. From the right: Sad Decline of the Shopping Mall

Time was, recalls Kevin Williamson at National Review, when the American shopping mall was the reincarnation of the downtown business district, moved indoors where it could be air-conditioned and efficiently policed. Yet now this new downtown is dying were down to 1,100 malls (400 of which are soon set to close) from the high-water mark of 5,000. But shops and jobs go together: One in ten employed Americans works in retail, and they tend to be workers who for various reasons sometimes lack of skill and education, but also things such as the need for flexible scheduling or physical limitations often do not have a great many desirable options. The real crisis is not so much a matter of jobs lost in the present but of jobs that never come into being in the future.

Compiled by Eric Fettmann

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The left's blindness on terrorism, Kushner's getting mugged by the media & other comments - New York Post