In a breakthrough, scientists have for the first time created cancer-killing cells which can be directly injected into patients.

Researchers in Japan have created cancer-specific killer T cells, the cells naturally occur in small numbers, but it is hoped injecting huge quantities back into a patient could turbo-charge the immune system, the `Daily Mail` reported.

Researchers at the RIKEN Research Centre for Allergy and Immunology revealed they have succeeded for the first time in creating cancer-specific, immune system cells called killer T lymphocytes, the `Daily Mail` reported.

To create these, the team first had to reprogramme T lymphocytes specialised in killing a certain type of cancer, into another type of cell called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells).

These iPS cells then generated fully active, cancer-specific T lymphocytes. These lymphocytes regenerated from iPS cells could potentially serve as cancer therapy in the future, researchers believe.

Previous research has shown that killer T lymphocytes produced in the lab using conventional methods are inefficient in killing cancer cells mainly because they have a very short life-span, which limits their use as treatment for cancer.

To overcome the problems, Japanese researchers, led by Hiroshi Kawamoto reprogrammed mature human killer T lymphocytes into iPS cells and investigated how these cells differentiate.

The team induced killer T lymphocytes specific for a certain type of skin cancer to reprogramme into iPS cells by exposing the lymphocytes to the `Yamanaka factors` - a group of compounds that induce cells to revert to a non-specialised, stage.

The iPS cells obtained were then grown in the lab and induced to differentiate into killer T lymphocytes again. This new batch of T lymphocytes was shown to be specific for the same type of skin cancer as the original lymphocytes.

They maintained the genetic reorganisation, enabling them to express the cancer-specific receptor on their surface. The new T lymphocytes were also shown to be active and to produce an anti-tumour compound.

"We have succeeded in the expansion of antigen-specific T cells by making iPS cells and differentiating them back into functional T cells," Kawamoto said.
"The next step will be to test whether these T cells can selectively kill tumour cells but not other cells in the body. If they do, these cells might be directly injected into patients for therapy. This could be realised in the not-so-distant future," Kawamoto said.

The findings were published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Researchers, including one of Indian origin, have claimed that a small molecule called TFP5 rescues plaques and tangles by blocking an overactive brain signal, thereby restoring memory in mice with Alzheimer's disease.

A new study by NIH researchers shows that when a molecule called TFP5 is injected into mice with disease that is the equivalent of human Alzheimer's, symptoms are reversed and memory is restored-without obvious toxic side effects.

"We hope that clinical trial studies in AD patients should yield an extended and a better quality of life as observed in mice upon TFP5 treatment," Harish C. Pant from National Institute of Neurological Disorders at Stroke said.

"Therefore, we suggest that TFP5 should be an effective therapeutic compound," he said.

To make this discovery, Pant and colleagues used mice with a disease considered the equivalent of Alzheimer's.

One set of these mice were injected with the small molecule TFP5, while the other was injected with saline as placebo. The mice, after a series of intraperitoneal injections of TFP5, displayed a substantial reduction in the various disease symptoms along with restoration of memory loss.
In addition, the mice receiving TFP5 injections experienced no weight loss, neurological stress (anxiety) or signs of toxicity. The disease in the placebo mice, however, progressed normally as expected. TFP5 was derived from the regulator of a key brain enzyme, called Cdk5.

The over activation of Cdk5 is implicated in the formation of plaques and tangles, the major hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

The study has been published in the FASEB Journal.

Being plump may not be so bad after all!

A bit of extra weight could actually help you live longer, according to new research which found that men and women who are slightly plump have longer lives than those who are slimmer.

US researchers analysed results of almost 100 studies and found that those judged to be slightly overweight were 6 per cent less likely to have died by the end of the study period than those of normal weight.

However, those who were any bigger were around a third more likely to die during the months or years they were being studied than those of normal weight.

The analysis is not the first to suggest that a bit of extra weight is actually good for health.

Explanations as to why this might be include the possibility that those who start out slightly heavier will have more fat reserves to call on should they lose weight due to ill health as they get older, researchers believe.

It is also possible that concerns about the health of the overweight and obese means that problems linked to weight, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, are more likely to be spotted and treated, improving that person`s overall health.

It has also been suggested that some people`s genes may help them escape the health consequences of being slightly overweight, while a bit of extra padding could help the elderly to survive falls unscathed.

Another theory is that some of those who are overweight may actually exercise more and eat better than thin people who starve themselves or smoke to suppress their appetite.

For the latest study, US government researchers read 91 previous research papers on the topic from around the world involving millions of men and women.

They looked at the subjects` body mass index (BMI) at the start of the research and how likely they were to have died by the end of it.

People are classified as being of normal weight if they have a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 and overweight if their reading is between 25 and 29.9.

A BMI higher than this is classified as obese and the bigger the reading the greater the risks to health are thought to be.

Having a BMI of between 30 and 34.9, and so being slightly obese, also did not seem to harm health.

However, those whose BMI was greater than this were 29 per cent less likely to live to see the end of the study than those whose weight was classed as normal.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) on Monday approved Johnson & Johnson`s drug for treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis - the first such federal approval aimed at tackling the deadly disease in 40 years.

The drug named Sirturo - known chemically as bedaquilineas is an alternative treatment for adults suffering from TB when two more powerful medications that are available, isoniazid and rifampicin, do not work, FDA said. However the regulator cautioned that the new drug should be used sparingly.

The FDA said Sirturo will carry a boxed warning to alert patients and health professionals that the drug can affect the heart`s electrical activity, which could lead to an abnormal and potentially fatal heart rhythm. The warning also noted deaths in patients treated with Sirturo and that nine patients who received Sirturo died -- compared with two patients who received a placebo.

TB is an infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is one of the world`s deadliest diseases. It is spread from person to person through the air and usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body such as the brain and kidneys.

Fifteen embryos are made for every woman conceiving through in vitro fertilisation, and almost half of them are discarded during or after the process, new figures have revealed.

According to the shocking revelation, over 1.7million embryos prepared with the aim of helping women become pregnant have been thrown away since records began 21 years ago.

The figures on the use of human embryos were gathered by the fertility industry regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which has recorded IVF processes since 1991, the Daily Mail reported.

Embryos are created from female eggs and male sperm during the IVF process. Some are then introduced into the womb of the prospective mother. Others, however, are put into storage, discarded as unwanted, or, in some cases, used in scientific experiments.

The figures released by Health Minister Lord Howe show that 3,546,818 human embryos have been created since August 1991. These have produced only 235,480 ``gestational sacs`` evidence of successful implantation.

As a result, 93 per cent of all embryos created more than 3.3 million in all are never used to generate a pregnancy.

Of the embryos created, 839,325 were put into storage for future use and 2,071 were stored for donation to others. A further 5,876 were set aside for scientific research.

In all, 1,388,443 embryos were implanted in the hope of beginning pregnancies. Just under one in six resulted in a pregnancy.
Of the rest, 1,691,090 were discarded unused and a further 23,480 were discarded after being taken out of storage.
The figures do not show how many of the successful implants resulted in pregnancies that went to term.