A REVIEW OF TREATMENT, RISK FACTORS, AND INCIDENCE OF COLORECTAL CANCER

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered as the third most frequent cancer in the world and the incidence increases with increasing age. CRC accounts for nearly 9 % of all cancer incidence, with an estimated 1.4 million cases happening in 2012. The aim of this paper is to provide a review of incidence, risk factors, screening strategies, and treatment of colorectal cancer. We searched the studies in five English databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Google Scholar with no limitation in publication time to find all papers regarding colorectal cancers. Papers with any language were included in the first step of search if they had an English abstract. We used the following words and terms including colorectal cancer, treatment, risk factor, diagnosis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery. Geographical variations and different time courses in the CRC incidence indicate that environmental factors and lifestyle are major factors in the development of this disease. The main preventable risk factors for CRC are nutrition, a high-fat diet, a low-fiber diet, obesity and physical inactivity, smoking and alcohol consumption, aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and some non-preventable risk factors such as age, gender, race, and diabetes mellitus. Colonoscopy remains the study of choice to diagnose colorectal cancer. Prior to any treatment, CT imaging of chest, abdomen and pelvis with contrast is needed for staging the patient’s CRC. The preferred option for localized colorectal cancer is surgery (etc, laparoscopic surgery, colostomy for rectal cancer); whereas the adjuvant chemotherapy is generally recommended for patients with lymph node metastases. Targeted treatment of colorectal cancer by monoclonal antibodies are important bioengineered proteins that can help the body's natural immune response to detect, attack, and kill cancer cells. Monoclonal antibodies may be used alone or in combination with other treatments such as chemotherapy. CRC accounts an important health problem worldwide that is estimated to increase because of the growth and aging of the population, and because of the adoption of at-risk manners and lifestyles, particularly in economically less developed countries. Screening has been confirmed to significantly decrease mortality and can prevent the onset of the disease. More international efforts are required to situate into practice targeted prevention approaches that might reduce the burden of CRC worldwide.

Melatonin and Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease with recurrent seizures. Its incidence, the social and psychological aspects of epilepsy-associated stigmatization in society, the medical risk of severe seizures, and the challenges in treatment confirm its medical and social significance. The pathogenesis of the diseases is associated with abnormal activity of a population of neurons due to various mechanisms, the most frequent being oxidative stress, glutamate excitotoxicity, and mitochondrial dysfunction. In the last 3-4 decades, the possible connection between epilepsy and melatonin – a neurohormone secreted by the pineal gland – has been sought and studied. Various physiological functions of melatonin in humans have been proven – regulation of circadian rhythms (diurnal, seasonal), sleep and wakefulness, participation in the processes of thermoregulation, tumour growth and aging, sexual activity and reproductive functions. It also has immunomodulatory, cytoprotective and antioxidant activity. The results from the studies with experimental models with animals conducted so far in search of a correlation between melatonin and epileptogenesis are mainly in support of the hypothesis of its anticonvulsant effect. The studies with humans are diverse in design, with a smaller number of participants, and the results are not always in explicit support of this hypothesis. The correlation between melatonin concentration and the course of the disease in patients with epilepsy has been discussed. The possibility of adding melatonin to anti-epileptic therapy has also been studied recently.

Pyrroloquinoline-Quinone Is More than an Antioxidant: A Vitamin-Like Accessory Factor Important in Health and Disease Prevention

Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is associated with biological processes such as mitochondriogenesis, reproduction, growth, and aging. In addition, PQQ attenuates clinically relevant dysfunctions (e.g., those associated with ischemia, inflammation and lipotoxicity). PQQ is novel among biofactors that are not currently accepted as vitamins or conditional vitamins. For example, the absence of PQQ in diets produces a response like a vitamin–related deficiency with recovery upon PQQ repletion in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, potential health benefits, such as improved metabolic flexibility and immuno-and neuroprotection, are associated with PQQ supplementation. Here, we address PQQ’s role as an enzymatic cofactor or accessory factor and highlight mechanisms underlying PQQ’s actions. We review both large scale and targeted datasets demonstrating that a neonatal or perinatal PQQ deficiency reduces mitochondria content and mitochondrial-related gene expression. Data are reviewed that suggest PQQ’s modulation of lactate acid and perhaps other dehydrogenases enhance NAD+–dependent sirtuin activity, along with the sirtuin targets, such as PGC-1α, NRF-1, NRF-2 and TFAM; thus, mediating mitochondrial functions. Taken together, current observations suggest vitamin-like PQQ has strong potential as a potent therapeutic nutraceutical.

Anticancer Effects and Mechanisms of OSW-1 Isolated From Ornithogalum saundersiae: A Review

For centuries, cancer has been a lingering dark cloud floating on people’s heads. With rapid population growth and aging worldwide, cancer incidence and mortality are growing rapidly. Despite major advances in oncotherapy including surgery, radiation and chemical therapy, as well as immunotherapy and targeted therapy, cancer is expected be the leading cause of premature death in this century. Nowadays, natural compounds with potential anticancer effects have become an indispensable natural treasure for discovering clinically useful agents and made remarkable achievements in cancer chemotherapy. In this regards, OSW-1, which was isolated from the bulbs of Ornithogalum saundersiae in 1992, has exhibited powerful anticancer activities in various cancers. However, after almost three decades, OSW-1 is still far from becoming a real anticancer agent for its anticancer mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, in this review we summarize the available evidence on the anticancer effects and mechanisms of OSW-1 in vitro and in vivo, and some insights for researchers who are interested in OSW-1 as a potential anticancer drug. We conclude that OSW-1 is a potential candidate for anticancer drugs and deserves further study.

Lifelong Adaptation of Gastric Cell Proliferation and Mucosa Structure to Early Weaning-Induced Effects

The gastric mucosa is disturbed when breastfeeding is interrupted, and such early weaning (EW) condition permanently affects the differentiation of zymogenic cells. The aim of the study was to evaluate the immediate and long-term effects of EW on gastric cell proliferation, considering the molecular markers for cell cycle, inflammation, and metaplasia. Overall, we investigated the lifelong adaptation of gastric growth. Wistar rats were divided into suckling-control (S) and EW groups, and gastric samples were collected at 18, 30, and 60 days for morphology, RNA, and protein isolation. Inflammation and metaplasia were not identified, but we observed that EW promptly increased Ki-67-proliferative index (PI) and mucosa thickness (18 days). From 18 to 30 days, PI increased in S rats, whereas it was stable in EW animals, and such developmental change in S made its PI higher than in EW. At 60 days, the PI decreased in S, making the indices similar between groups. Spatially, during development, proliferative cells spread along the gland, whereas, in adults, they concentrate at the isthmus-neck area. EW pushed dividing cells to this compartment (18 days), increased PI at the gland base (60 days), but it did not interfere in expression of cell cycle molecules. At 18 days, EW reduced Tgfβ2, Tgfβ3, and Tgfbr2 and TβRII and p27 levels, which might regulate the proliferative increase at this age. We demonstrated that gastric cell proliferation is immediately upregulated by EW, corroborating previous results, but for the first time, we showed that such increased PI is stable during growth and aging. We suggest that suckling and early weaning might use TGFβs and p27 to trigger different proliferative profiles during life course.

Lung cancer: prevent or treat?

Cancer is currently one of the most serious health problems of humanity, it is among the first as a cause of death in developed and developing countries, with a tendency to continue to rise and occupy the absolute first place for the year 2025 also, because its diagnosis is made in advanced stages, it is estimated that its incidence will double by the year 2030 as a result of population growth and aging and that it may affect all ages, even those fetuses.

Charting Brain Growth and Aging at High Spatial Precision

Defining reference models for population variation, and the ability to study individual deviations is essential for understanding inter-individual variability and its relation to the onset and progression of medical conditions. In this work, we assembled a reference cohort of neuroimaging data from 82 sites (N=58,836; ages 2-100) and use normative modeling to characterize lifespan trajectories of cortical thickness and subcortical volume. Models are validated against a manually quality checked subset (N=24,354) and we provide an interface for transferring to new data sources. We showcase the clinical value by applying the models to a transdiagnostic psychiatric sample (N=1,985), showing they can be used to quantify variability underlying multiple disorders whilst also refining case-control inferences. These models will be augmented with additional samples and imaging modalities as they become available. This provides a common reference platform to bind results from different studies and ultimately paves the way for personalized clinical decision making.

Crystallographic control of homeopathy influence on plant growth and aging

Currently, a large arsenal of stimulants is used for plant growth, mainly gibberellins, amino acids and mineral salts (“Gibbor-M”, “Ovary”, “Gibberross”, etc.). Growth stimulants increase the plant immunity against pests. Soaking seedlings in stimulant solutions during rooting and transplantation promotes stimulation of root formation and increased survival. Considering the aforesaid, an attempt of use of homeopathic medicine Arnica 3CH for increase in stability of fragments of bulbs of wild onions at reproduction has been made by division. The percent of death of plants was 60% less, than in control. Biosubstrata (juice of leaves) have crystallized under natural conditions by a technique of a classical crystalloscopy. The correctness of course of processes of crystallization was studied by means of assessment of extent of destruction of the crystalloscopic facies. [1] This parameter in skilled group remained above a similar indicator of control groups throughout all experiment. In control group of plants, the maximum destruction of the facies was registered. Root crops were used in the present study. Plants were grown in 3 different manners: organic farming methods, use of homeopathic medicines and the controls were plants grown with industrial techniques. The results showed significant difference between the groups of carrots, beets and potatoes grown with different techniques with thesiographic and crystallographic control [2]. Facies differed considerably relative to number and type of crystals and ratio. The crystalline structures on the facies of beets grown using homeopathy were very large, occupying a considerable area of the field. The crystalline structures on the facies of beets grown with organic methods had an elongated shape, and large amounts were located at the center of the facies. Crystal structures in beet-roots, grown industrially, have a compact form, with a much smaller size than that of beets, grown with using homeopathy and organics [3,4]. Conducted studies shown the effect of homoeopathic influence over root growing after single application by bedding in relation to control variants of this plants cultivation, which confirms the views on the electromagnetic wave nature of the homeopathic phenomenon introduced by Russian scientists in 2000 [5]. Therefore, application of the crystallographic method to the study of the study of the effects of potentized medicines on plants has much potential, requiring systematic studies.

Exogenous Hydrogen Sulfide Plays an Important Role by Regulating Autophagy in Diabetic-Related Diseases

Autophagy is a vital cell mechanism which plays an important role in many physiological processes including clearing long-lived, accumulated and misfolded proteins, removing damaged organelles and regulating growth and aging. Autophagy also participates in a variety of biological functions, such as development, cell differentiation, resistance to pathogens and nutritional hunger. Recently, autophagy has been reported to be involved in diabetes, but the mechanism is not fully understood. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a colorless, water-soluble, flammable gas with the typical odor of rotten eggs, which has been known as a highly toxic gas for many years. However, it has been reported recently that H2S, together with nitric oxide and carbon monoxide, is an important gas signal transduction molecule. H2S has been reported to play a protective role in many diabetes-related diseases, but the mechanism is not fully clear. Recent studies indicate that H2S plays an important role by regulating autophagy in many diseases including cancer, tissue fibrosis diseases and glycometabolic diseases; however, the related mechanism has not been fully studied. In this review, we summarize recent research on the role of H2S in regulating autophagy in diabetic-related diseases to provide references for future related research.

Cervical spine multi-body mathematical model

The human cervical spine is the most complicated structure in the vertebral column; its seven mobile vertebrae are interconnected in different ways and interact with many other parts of the body, in particularly [sic] the neck. Individual variations exist; with time, growth and aging can induce substantial changes in the components of each individual's spine. Knowledge of the function of the spine, from a mechanical viewpoint, is important to the study of both normal function and pathological processes. However, because of the structural complexity of the spine, only a limited understanding of the subject exists at present. Mathematical analogies are often used to study complex biological systems, which are difficult to investigate by using conventional experimental techniques. Hence, they are simulated and their behavior may then be studied in great detail. This project describes a mathematical model of the human cervical vertebral column. The model is comprised of a collection of equations expressing the mechanical relationships that must be obeyed among its elements, each of which represents a segment of a real vertebral column. Some degree of descriptive reality has been sacrificed in an effort to gain simplicity in approximating the behavior of the spine under a variety of conditions. The mathematical model was solved by preparing a special code as part of this project; determining dimensions and positions of neck components were another task since no such data are available in previous studies. However, most of the physical data of the neck was utilized from existing literature. The solution was determined by analyzing deflections, forces and stresses on each individual ligament and on each individual vertebra. Results of two case studies shown at the end of this project illustrate by figures depicted the projection views of the deflectuions of ligaments and total magnitude forces exerted on each vertebra.