Cancer Research: Treating colon cancer with vitamin A ♦ Active ingredient in magic mushrooms reduces anxiety,depression in cancer patients

Active ingredient in magic mushrooms reduces anxiety, depression in cancer patients Psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, decreased anxiety and depression in patients diagnosed with life-threatening cancer. Patients who received a psilocybin dose that altered perception and produced mystical-type experiences reported significantly less anxiety and depression .The positive effects lasted 6 months.

Advanced thyroid cancer rate in some California counties is well above national average There are several parts of California where, in a high percentage of people with thyroid cancer, the disease is already at an advanced stage by the time it is diagnosed.

Potential of liquid biopsy for breast cancer patients Information gleaned from a liquid biopsy may help predict how individual women with advanced breast cancer will respond to certain therapies as well as reveal genetic mutations that can impact prognosis.

Treating colon cancer with vitamin A  A leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, colon cancer is famously resistant to treatment. Now the biological pathway behind the growth of colon cancer has been discovered by researchers who have been able block it with vitamin A

Immune System Research: Vitamin A directs immune cells to intestines ♦ Role of microbiota in preventing allergies ♦ Scientists find molecular switch that creates long-term immunity

Organ transplant rejection may not be permanent Rejection of transplanted organs in hosts that were previously tolerant may not be permanent, report scientists. Using a mouse model of cardiac transplantation, they found that immune tolerance can spontaneously recover after an infection-triggered rejection event, and that hosts can accept subsequent transplants as soon as a week after. This process depends on regulatory T-cells, a component of the immune system that acts as a 'brake' for other immune cells.

Vitamin A directs immune cells to intestines A key set of immune cells that protect the body from infection would be lost without directions provided by vitamin A, according to a recent study. A team of researchers found retinoic acid is necessary for two of the three types of innate immune cells that reside in the intestine to find their proper place.

Role of microbiota in preventing allergies The microbiota is involved in many mechanisms, including digestion, vitamin synthesis and host defense. It is well established that a loss of bacterial symbionts promotes the development of allergies. Scientists have succeeded in explaining this phenomenon, and demonstrate how the microbiota acts on the balance of the immune system: the presence of microbes specifically blocks the immune cells responsible for triggering allergies.

Scientists find molecular switch that creates long-term immunity Researchers have identified a protein responsible for preserving the antibody-producing cells that lead to long-term immunity after infection or vaccination.

Immune Research: Protein suggests a new strategy to thwart infection ♦ Spouses, relatives of celiac disease patients at risk for autoimmune diseases ♦ Vitamin A supplementation may cause immune system to 'forget' past infections

Vitamin A supplementation may cause immune system to 'forget' past infections Although vitamin A supplementation can have profound health benefits when someone is deficient, new evidence is emerging to show that vitamin A supplementation above and beyond normal levels may have negative health consequences. A new research report may help to explain why too much vitamin A can be harmful.

Spouses, relatives of celiac disease patients at risk for autoimmune diseases Both spouses and first-degree relatives of patients with celiac disease are at increased risk of non celiac autoimmune disease. While the excess risk found in celiac first-degree relatives can be explained by genetics, the higher risk in spouses points to the impact of environmental factors. It is also possible that spouses share microbiome characteristics with their husband/wife, which might impact the risk of developing and diagnosing other autoimmune diseases.

Link found between autoimmune diseases, medications, dangerous heartbeat condition New research focuses on identifying the mechanism by which patients with various autoimmune and connective tissue disorders may be at risk for life-threatening cardiac events if they take certain anti-histamine or anti-depressant medications.

Protein suggests a new strategy to thwart infection The newfound ability of a protein of the intestines and lungs to distinguish between human cells and the cells of bacterial invaders could underpin new strategies to fight infections. A new article describes the knack of a human protein known as intelectin to distinguish between our cells and those of the disease-causing microbes that invade our bodies.

Tufts University: Ethical Violations on Golden Rice Study

University officials have admitted that Tufts-affiliated researchers violated scientific ethics laws after feeding genetically modified rice to children in China without proper consent in a study about “Golden Rice.”

A recent university announcement confirmed accusations from Greenpeace that researchers in the study had tested the rice on children without disclosing the true nature of the experiment.

Golden Rice, which contains beta carotene, was developed as a solution for Vitamin A deficiency in children.The deficiency causes blindness in approximately 250,000 children annually, and about half of those children die within a year as a result of the sight loss.

During the 2008 study, they gave 72 primary school children in China’s Hunan province rations of the modified rice. All children were between the ages of six and eight years old.

On Sept. 17 of this year, Tufts issued an email statement to media outlets standing by the findings of the study, but conceding an ethical violation.“While the study data were validated and no health or safety concerns were identified, the research itself was found not to have been conducted in full compliance with policy or federal regulations,” the university said

According to the announcement, Tang will be barred from conducting research on human subjects for two years, during which time she will be retrained on human subject research regulations and policies.

“The Chinese show great shock and anger on this unbelievable misconduct of golden rice trial,” Jiangli Yu, senior campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia, “Especially for those parents of children who were involved in the trial, they feel hurt since they were not told the details.”

After Greenpeace first questioned the study in August 2012, the CDC began a three-month investigation of the experiment, which resulted in the organization firing two members of its own staff., including principal investigator Shi’an Yin.

Tufts’ has revised its policies and procedures to ensure that in the future, research conducted outside of the United States is reviewed more carefully, according to the email to the media.

Golden Rice, which contains beta carotene, was developed as a solution for Vitamin A deficiency in children, Kritz told the Daily in an email. Such deprivation causes blindness in approximately 250,000 children annually, and about half of those children die within a year as a result of the sight loss.

According to the announcement, Tang will be barred from conducting research on human subjects for two years, during which time she will be retrained on human subject research regulations and policies. As a result, Tang has decided to close her lab next year.

“The general [Chinese] public show great shock and [anger] on this unbelievable misconduct of golden rice trial,” Jiangli Yu, senior campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia, told the Daily in an email. “Especially for those parents of children who were involved in the trial, they feel hurt since they were not told the details which they were supposed to know.”

The study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) in August 2012 and concluded that Golden Rice was a promising source of Vitamin A for Chinese children.. After Greenpeace first questioned the study in August 2012, the CDC began a three-month investigation of the experiment, which resulted in the organization firing two members of its own staff, including principal investigator Shi’an Yin.

Kritz said that Tufts, despite the violation, stands by the results of the study.“These multiple reviews found no concerns related to the integrity of the study data, the accuracy of the research results or the safety of the research subjects,” the media statement read. “In fact, the study indicated that a single serving of the test product, Golden Rice, could provide greater than 50 percent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin A in these children, which could significantly improve health outcomes if adopted as a dietary regimen.”