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Family Health
Brain Tumor Drug
Every year more than 21-thousand people in the U.S. are diagnosed with brain cancer. Unfortunately, many of those people will die within a year of diagnosis. But doctors are hopeful that a chemotherapy drug approved to fight other types of cancer, may help people with brain cancer live longer, fuller lives.
One patient, David Rose, gets three hours of chemotherapy treatments every two weeks. He started experimental treatment about nine months ago. A standard treatment includes surgery, radiation, and other types of chemotherapy and those worked for a while but the tumor kept coming back.
Dr. Kurt Jaeckle, a neurologist, says "His tumor was much more aggressive when it came back. It was dividing at a much more rapid rate. We thought it was pretty much the end for him at that point."
But Dr. Jaeckle says a chemotherapy drug called bevacizumab, which is FDA approved for colon and lung cancer, has reduced David's tumor to the point where you can't see it on an MRI.
Tumor growth depends on blood flow from nearby vessels. These vessels grow into the tumor after receiving a signal from the tumor. That signal is a protein called vegf. The medication David receives blocks the vegf from attaching to receptors on the blood vessels. Without signals to grow, the tumor can shirk.
This drug has not yet been approved y the FDA as a brain cancer treatment, but research suggests that it could be effective for than 50 percent of the people who use it.
David says the chemo he gets every two weeks can wipe him out for a day or so, but he also says it's a small price to pay for life. Dr. Jaeckle isn't sure how long David will have to continue the treatments, as this medication is so new in regards to brain cancer. It's still being investigated, and it is not right for all patients with brain cancer. But it may become one more vital weapon in the fight against this deadly disease.
Carbon Dioxide and Allergies
Allergy season is here, and along with your hay fever you may be experiencing the annoying side affects of drugs. But a new treatment for allergies, with fewer side effects, might come from the same substance blamed for global warming.
New research shows carbon dioxide may be a treatment for allergies like hay fever. Allergist Tom Casale, says, "It is a little bit of a strange idea when you think about it. It's in a higher concentration than you would normally exhale. And it's in a more rapid flow."
Casale is testing to see of flowing carbon dioxide gas through peoples' noses can reduce their allergy miseries. In a study, people with allergies randomly relieved either the CO2 treatment or plain air. The results with CO2 were promising and had fewer side effects than current treatments. Casale says, "Patients got significant relief of all of their symptoms of allergic arhinitis or hay fever within 10 minutes. And it actually lasted for up to 24 hours."
More studies are underway to refine the dosing, and test theories about how the treatment works. Researchers say testing will soon begin on a portable sample to go for FDA approval.
Tanning Bed Warts
It's that time of year again. When many spring breakers and vacationers hit the tanning beds to get a head start on that bronze glow. But beware. You can catch a lot more in tanning beds than just a few rays.
Dr. Dawn Davis has seen plenty of infections from tanning beds. One patient contracted warts from a tanning bed that was not properly cleaned. She is having laser treatment to remove them. It has taken four years and many treatments and she still has some remaining warts.
Warts, caused by the human papilloma virus, or HPV, are just one of the many health risks associated with tanning bed use. Dermatologist, Dr. Dawn Davis says, "It's very dangerous. I have seen people come to my office who have gotten severe burns and scarring from tanning beds and lots of infections."
Rashes, skin ulcerations and cellulites, a skin infection caused by the staphylococcus bacteria are just a few. UVA and UVB rays can also cause cataracts and damage your retina. Dr Davis says, "The other thing I like to warn against tanning beds is that you increase your risk for melanoma approximately eight times over your life time."
So before you stretch out on a tanning bed consider the risks. Dr. Davis says if you absolutely have to get tan, use sunless tanners or go to a salon and get sprayed.
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