Monday, November 29, 2010

Coffee slows brain cancer

A group of scientists has said that caffeine found in coffee and green tea could effectively slow the growth of brain cancer tumours.




According to the researchers at the (South) Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), animal test results showed regular caffeine found in coffee and green tea to have strongly repressed the growth of inositol trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) closely linked to glioblastoma, which is the most common and aggressive type of primary brain tumour found in human. The research team, comprising of scientists from Seoul National University, Gyeongsang National University, and Emory University in Atlanta, said that calcium plays a primary role in spreading glioblastoma tumour cells in humans, and that IP3R directly contributes to the amount of calcium released.



They discovered a sub-type of IP3R, or IP3R3, to be very active among brain cancer patients and that caffeine stymies the spread of such compounds, resulting in less tumour growth in the brain and blocks cancer cells from spreading to other parts of the body, reports Xinhua. "This is the first type of discovery showing caffeine to have an inhibitive effect on the growth of glioblastoma, and thus, we expect it to have monumental impact on related studies," said Lee Chang-joon, who led the study. The researchers said that the amounts of caffeine used in the animal tests were somewhere in the range of two to five cups of coffee or green tea consumed on average by humans per day.


http://www.braintumors.in

Dr.Sanjay Mongia

Scorpion venom improves anti-brain cancer therapy

Scientists have found that an ingredient in the venom of the 'deathstalker' scorpion could help gene therapy become an effective treatment for brain cancer.




The substance allows therapeutic genes — genes that treat disease — to reach more brain cancer cells than current approaches, according to the study.



Miqin Zhang and colleagues note that gene therapy — the delivery of therapeutic genes into diseased cells — shows promise for fighting glioma, the most common and most serious form of brain cancer


http://www.braintumors.in/

Dr.Sanjay Mongia

Teen plays football after beating Brain Cancer

Zach Lederer almost died of a brain tumor when he was 11. Now, after battling cancer, relearning how to walk and regaining the life no one thought he would have after his diagnosis, the 17-year-old is tearing up his high school football field.




Lederer tells CNN he faced the field in honor of all the other kids he knows are struggling to survive:



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/27/inspiring-teen-plays-foot_n_788748.html
 
 
http://www.braintumors.in/

Firefighters face higher cancer risk

http://www.braintumors.in/

Early Symptoms of Brain Cancer

The symptoms of brain cancer are nothing but the effect of brain tumor. It strongly affects patient’s nervous system and intern, the brain. So, the symptoms are also related to neurological system only. Patient’s facing problems like headache. The headaches are stronger especially during the morning hours and when lying down, it gets worst.




It is but obvious that if your brain is having any sorts of problem, you other body parts are also going to get affected. Hence, these patients who are suffering from brain cancer have numbness in arms, in legs or in face muscles. In our regular life, we are never focused on such issues. At times we only consult the doctor when the pain goes out of control. But at that time, it’s too late.



In the early stages, a Brain cancer patient also feels like vomiting, nausea and at times loses coordination of body movement. Difficulty in walking and muscle twitching are also symptoms of brain cancer. Seizure can also occur in early stages. Breathing problems and lack of sense of smell is another symptom of brain cancer during early stages

Most of the time, we ignore our bad memory problems. But it may happen due to brain cancer. If a person is at the early stage of Brain cancer, then he or she can easily find problems with their routine movements including walking, hearing, talking and so on. The may also face poor eye vision or double vision. While having conversation, patient might stop in between or take many pauses.




A patient who is at early stages of brain cancer can also have behavioral issues. Many times person becomes aggressive. At times co-ordination between talking and doing things is totally missing. Mood swing and judgment problem are symptoms of brain cancer too. Person is not able to judge the things properly. Some times, the person goes through sudden moods swings. In emergency condition, people not react quickly.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Nanomedicine drug hits brain tumor

Nine years ago, scientists at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute detected a subtle shift occurring in the molecular makeup of the most aggressive type of brain tumors, glioblastoma multiforme. With further study, they found that a specific protein called laminin-411 plays a major role in a tumor's ability to build new blood vessels to support its growth and spread. But technology did not exist then to block this protein. Now, employing new drug-engineering technology that is part of an advanced science called nanomedicine, the research team has created a "nanobioconjugate" drug that may be given by intravenous injection and carried in the blood to target the brain tumor. It is engineered to specifically permeate the tumor cell wall, entering endosomes, mobile compartments within cells.


As endosomes mature, they grow acidic (low pH), and a chemical component of the drug triggers at this point, breaking the endosomes' membranes. Freed drugs block the tumor cell's production of laminin-411, the "malignant" protein of new tumor vessels. By its nature, the drug is nontoxic to non-tumor cells; side effects associated with conventional chemotherapy are not an issue with this class of drugs.

 
Dr.Sanjay Mongia
http://www.braintumors.in/

Tea and Coffee Thwart Brain Tumor Risk

Recent studies have suggested that total coffee and tea consumption may inversely associate with risk of glioma, tumors that originate in the brain’s supportive tissue, and data exists that suggests that caffeine may slow the invasive growth of glioblastoma tumors, a form of aggressive primary brain cancer. Dominique S. Michaud, from Imperial College (United Kingdom), and colleagues studied the association between coffee, tea, or caffeinated beverages and glioma risk, engaging data collected from over half a million people enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The researchers found that daily consumption of more than 100 milliliters (mL; 3.4 ounces) of tea or coffee significantly reduced glioma risk (as compared consuming less than 100 ml per day). Concluding that: “In this large cohort study, we observed an inverse association between total coffee and tea consumption and risk of glioma that was consistent with the findings of a recent study,” the team suggests that: “These findings, if further replicated in other studies, may provide new avenues of research on gliomas.”





Dr.Sanjay Mongia
http://www.braintumors.in/

Monday, August 2, 2010

Difference between a primary brain tumor and a metastatic (secondary) brain tumor

Primary brain tumors originate in the brain itself. Primary brain tumors do not spread from the brain to other parts of the body except in rare cases. Pathologists classify primary brain tumors into two groups: glial tumors (gliomas) and nonglial tumors. Gliomas are composed of glial cells, which include astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells, Schwann cells, microglia, and satellite cells. Nonglial tumors develop on or in structures within the brain, such as nerves, blood vessels, and glands.




Metastatic or secondary brain tumors begin as cancer in another part of the body. Some of the cancer cells may be carried to the brain by the blood or may spread from adjacent tissue. The site where the cancerous cells originated is referred to as the primary cancer. Metastatic brain tumors are often referred to as brain metastases or lesions. Metastatic brain tumors are the most common brain tumors. Because people are surviving primary cancers for longer periods of time, there has been an increase in metastatic lesions.


Dr.Sanjay Mongia

Symptoms of Brain Tumors in Children

Some of the general symptoms of brain tumors in children are headaches; vomiting (usually in the morning and without nausea); unsteadiness or loss of balance; seizures; double vision or vision problems; decreased coordination; fatigue or sleepiness; weakness on one side of the body; increased size of the head; uncontrolled eye movements; irritability; and behavioral changes.




Symptoms are often vague in children, especially in very young children who are not able to fully describe their symptoms. Some of these symptoms can occur with a variety of more common childhood illnesses. The difference with brain tumors is that these symptoms persist and get worse over time. If your child is experiencing any of these symptoms, it is important to see Dr.Sanjay Mongia and get a definitive diagnosis.



Pediatric brain tumors are not contagious. Their causes are unknown

Symptoms of Brain Tumors

The most common symptoms include headaches, which can be most severe in the morning; nausea or vomiting, which can be most severe in the morning; seizures or convulsions; difficulty thinking, speaking, or finding words; personality changes; weakness or paralysis in one part or one side of the body; loss of balance; vision changes; confusion and disorientation; and memory loss. Different parts of the brain control different functions, so symptoms will vary depending on the tumor’s location.




While these are the most common symptoms of a brain tumor, they can also indicate other medical problems. If you are having any of these symptoms, it is important to see Dr.Sanjay Mongia and get a definitive diagnosis.

Brain Tumor Website

Log on to http://www.braintumors.in/ for details about brain tumors

Dr.Sanjay Mongia

Friday, January 29, 2010

CyberKnife

The CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System is a non-invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors anywhere in the body, including the prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas and kidney. The treatment – which delivers beams of high dose radiation to tumors with extreme accuracy – offers new hope to patients worldwide.




Though its name may conjure images of scalpels and surgery, the CyberKnife treatment involves no cutting. In fact, the CyberKnife System is the world’s first and only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors throughout the body non-invasively. It provides a pain-free, non-surgical option for patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumors, or who may be looking for an alternative to surgery.

http://www.cyberknife.co.in/