Sperm carries information about dad's weight

Turns out dads are also eating for two. A study published December 3 in Cell Metabolism reveals that a man's weight affects the heritable information contained in sperm. The sperm cells of lean and obese men possess different epigenetic marks, notable at gene regions associated with the control of appetite. The comparisons, which included 13 lean men and 10 obese men, offer one biological explanation for why children of obese fathers are themselves more predisposed to obesity.

In the next phase of the study, the investigators tracked 6 men undergoing weight-loss surgery to see how it affected their sperm. An average of 5,000 structural changes to sperm cell DNA were observed from the time before the surgery, directly after, and one year later. More needs to be learned about what these differences mean and their effects on offspring, but it is early evidence that sperm carries information about a man's health.

"Our research could lead to changing behavior, particularly pre-conception behavior of the father," says senior author Romain Barrès, an Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen. "It's common knowledge that when a woman is pregnant she should take care of herself--not drink alcohol, stay away from pollutants, etc.--but if the implication of our study holds true, then recommendations should be directed towards men, too."

Biomarker of early lung cancer identified

Taipei: Researchers have identified a biomarker that detects the most common lung cancer in its earliest stage.

The scientists believe that the discovery could help increase survival of lung cancer patients.

According to the National Cancer Institute, lung cancer kills about 158,000 Americans each year -- as many as the next four most deadly cancers combined. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 85 percent of all lung cancers.

"When NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) is detected early, patients have a 70 percent chance of being alive five years later. When NSCLC is detected at an advanced stage, five-year survival drops to less than 10 percent," said senior investigator Pei-Jung Lu, professor of medicine at National Cheng-Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan.

The researchers tested Huntingtin interaction protein-1 (HIP1) as a potential new biomarker.

They also investigated its role in lung cancer progression and spread or metastasis, the cause of most lung cancer deaths.

In addition to serving as a biomarker, HIP1 represses the mobility of lung cancer cells in laboratory studies and suppresses metastasis in a mouse model of the cancer, the researchers found.

The researchers began by examining lung tissue from 121 patients. They found that those in the earliest stages of the diseases expressed more HIP1 than those in the later stages of the disease.

They also found a significant correlation between those patients who expressed higher levels of HIP1 and longer survival.

"If we can restore HIP1 levels and functions, we may be able to stop or prevent human lung cancer metastasis in the early stage," Lu said.

How being overweight causes cancer

Extra fat in the body can have harmful effects, like producing hormones and growth factors that affect the way our cells work. This can raise the risk of several diseases, including cancer. It's thought that more than 1 in 20 cancers in the UK are linked to being overweight or obese.
Research has shown that many types of cancer are more common in people who are overweight or obese, including:

breast cancer, in women after the menopause
bowel cancer
womb cancer
oesophageal (food pipe) cancer
gastric cardia cancer (a type of stomach cancer)
pancreatic cancer
kidney cancer
liver
probably - gallbladder, ovarian and aggressive prostate cancers
This list includes 2 of the most common types of cancer – breast and bowel cancers - and 3 of the hardest to treat – pancreatic, oesophageal and gallbladder cancers.

Cancer deaths on the rise in India

New Delhi: The number of deaths due to cancer has been increasing in the country, according to the National Cancer Registry Programme of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Union Health Minister J P Nadda informed the Parliament on Wednesday that the estimated mortality from cancer in the year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 were 4,65,169, 4,78,185, 4,91,598 and 5,05,428, respectively.

The minister said treatment of cancer in government hospitals is either free or subsidised, and financial aid is available to BPL patients under Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi.

Besides this, the Health Minister's Cancer Patient Fund within Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi has been set up in 2009 where 27 regional cancer centres are provided with revolving fund to provide immediate financial assistance up to Rs 2 lakh to cancer patients belonging to BPL category.

Zafgen skids 60% after second death in obesity drug trial

A second patient died in a late-stage trial of Zafgen's experimental obesity treatment, highlighting safety concerns associated with drugs that aim to treat a condition that affects one in three Americans.
The company said a patient receiving its drug, beloranib, died from a blockage in an artery in the lung.

Obesity treatments have been plagued by safety concerns, particularly related to heart risk, increased suicidal thoughts and birth defects, and several have been taken off the market.

The U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has approved drugs made by Vivus, Orexigen Therapeutics and Arena Pharmaceuticals, but has asked for additional studies to check for safety of these drugs.

The treatments suppress appetite by tinkering with nerve signals, telling the brain that the stomach is full.