Author Archives: kmin

Gluten-free diet: Necessary for all?

Posted on March 11, 2013 | 3 comments

Gluten-free

(Picture resource: Power of food)

A gluten-free diet is a diet that excludes the protein gluten. Gluten is found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. The protein gluten causes celiac disease which is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine because of gene mutation. The vast majority of people who have celiac disease do not know it. Eating a gluten-free diet is a treatment for people with celiac disease by controlling their symptoms and preventing complications. People with celiac disease must eat a strictly gluten-free diet and must keep on the diet for their remaining lives.

Medical experts largely agree that there is a condition related to gluten other than celiac, called non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is a medical term used for someone who does not have celiac, but whose health improves on a gluten-free diet and worsens again if gluten is eaten. It could even be more than one illness.

Kristen Golden Testa, who is health program director in California for the Children’s Partnership, is one of the gluten-sensitive. Although she does not have celiac, she started a gluten-free diet. She says she has lost weight and her allergies have gone away. She did not consult a doctor before starting a gluten-free diet, and she also does not know whether avoiding gluten has helped at all. Also, she gave up sugar at the same time and made an effort to eat more vegetables and nuts. People like Ms. Golden Testa say that gluten-free diets have improved their health. They believe that avoiding gluten gives them more energy and alleviates chronic ills.

Dr. Stefano Guandalini, medical director of the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center, said that “it is not a healthier diet for those who don’t need it. These people are following a fad, essentially”.

Experts also worried that people could end up eating less healthfully. A gluten-free muffin generally contains less fiber than a wheat-based one. Many grains are enriched with vitamins. Avoiding grains with a gluten-free diet may mean eating fewer of nutrition enriched products.

If you think you are having problems with gluten, you should be tested for celiac disease. You can’t cut out gluten before being tested. Celiac experts urge people to not to do self-diagnose. Celiac disease can be silent, causing damage you can’t see or feel, so you need regular monitoring and tests, especially since it’s so easy to be accidentally exposed to gluten. It is also highly recommended to visit a doctor or a licensed nutritionist before starting on a gluten-free diet.

Here’s a video more about gluten-free diet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLJSmJ0bMlk

Reference

http://glutenfreeexpo.ca/

http://www.celiac.ca/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten-free_diet/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeliac_disease/

http://www.glutenfreefind.com/

http://glutenfreediet.ca/

KiWon Min

3 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Science in the News

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Gene therapy, newly developed treatment approved in Europe

Posted on February 10, 2013 | 2 comments

Genes (composed of deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA) function as the biological determinants of heredity that exhibit traits, such as eye color and they are located on chromosomes inside cells.

Gene therapy

Gene therapy is an experimental treatment that involves introducing genetic material (DNA or RNA) into a person’s cells to fight or prevent disease. It facilitates our body by providing the genes in needs, or correct copies of defective genes that may potentially cause genetic disorders. So far, researchers are studying gene therapy in clinical trials to suit different types of cancer and other various diseases, such as hemophilia B, Parkinson’s disease, and HIV.

Several approaches are being attempted in order to cure diseases via gene therapy. First of all, mutated genes that cause diseases are replaced with healthy copies of the genes. Also, mutated genes that are functioning improperly are inactivated. Finally, new genes are introduced into the body to help fighting against diseases.

Generally, a gene cannot be directly inserted into a person’s cell. So, a vector, which is used to deliver a gene to a person’s cell, is used. Virus is the most commonly used vector in gene therapy. Although the viruses are genetically altered to be safe and carry normal human DNA, some risks still exist with gene therapy.

Gene therapy was not available outside a clinical trial until recently. Since 1990, hundreds of clinical trials have been conducted and most have failed as it was difficult to deliver the genes and keep them activated for a long time. Also, the incident of a teenager’s death during a clinical trial at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999 brought the safety concerns on the surface. However, researchers have been slowly overcoming the obstacles and in the last few years there have been reports of successes in attempts to treat cancer, hemophilia B, certain immune diseases and a condition that causes blindness.

After all, gene therapy was first officially approved in Europe. The European Medicines Agency has recommended the application of a gene therapy to treat rare genetic diseases. This was actually the very first regulatory approval of a gene therapy drug in the Western world. Also, a gene therapy to treat cancer won an approval in China in 2003.

As illustrated, a gene therapy has been a controversial topic and it was successful in establishing realistic procedure in the world. Still it is not such a common method that we encounter in the medical field. As it was proven to be beneficial and effective in treating number of symptoms, our deeper attention and acknowledgement regarding this content would be an advantageous step in discovering a new tool to cure diseases.

Here is a video more detailed descriptions about the gene therapy.

YouTube Preview Image

KiWon Min

Online reference

http://www.genetherapynet.com/

http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/health_medicine/gene_therapy/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/health/european-agency-recommends-approval-of-a-gene-therapy.html?_r=0

 

2 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Science in the News

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If you do not start, you never have to worry about stopping

Posted on January 20, 2013 | 2 comments

Every year hundreds of thousands of people around the world die from diseases caused by smoking cigarettes. Smoking causes disease and is a slow way to die. The strain of smoking effects on the body often causes years of suffering. Smoking also contributes to a number of cancers. While you smoke, temporarily increased heart rate and blood pressure can cause heart attacks and stroke. Also, heart disease and strokes are more common among smokers than non-smokers. In younger people, three out of four deaths from heart disease are due to smoking. From the above, smoking kills and that quitting makes sense.

Smoking (Source:http://www.wallsave.com/wallpaper/1680×1050/smoking-hd-place-397661.html)

However, nicotine addiction is a relatively simple process. When people smoke, the nicotine enters the body and activates receptors in the brain. These receptors stimulate the activity of dopamine, which makes people feel good. If the nicotine level drops, the activity of dopamine also decreases. Because your body has become used to the higher activity level of dopamine, people feel the desire to resume smoking. In addition, the nicotine in your body is broken down within a day or so, but the craving for a cigarette remains for months.

I would like to introduce Terrie Hall to those who are making a struggling decision whether to quit or continue smoking.

left: Terrie’s senior year in high school, right: after she started smoking

Terrie started smoking regularly at age 17. She would come to smoke up to two packs a day. In 2001, she was diagnosed with oral cancer at the age of 40. So, she had to go through radiation. The time she was going through radiation, she had a really sore throat and she simply thought that she was just smoking too much. Later that same year, she was diagnosed with throat cancer. The doctors informed her that they would need to remove her voice box, larynx. Unfortunately, cancer has returned numerous times since she was first diagnosed. At 51, she continues to battle tobacco-related illness today.

Terrie is a laryngectomee that she has a hole in her neck now. Therefore, she speaks often with the help of her electrolarynx. These days, she works to educate young people about the dangers and consequences of tobacco use through the tips from former smoker campaign. She joined the ad campaign because it will save lives. She said, “Quit. If you don’t start, you never have to worry about stopping”. She believes that if she could prevent just one person from smoking, then she has done something great.

I think Terrie’s advertisements have the potential to significantly influence smokers at any ages to understand the range and magnitude of smoking-related risks, while encouraging them to quit.

Here’s Terrie’s ad.

KiWon Min

Online references

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/stories/terrie.html

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/16/health/smoking-campaign-hall/index.html

 

2 Comments

Posted in Science in the News

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