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In Spain Almost 1 Quarter Of Women Take Antidepressants
Psychopharmaceutical use has risen over recent years. This is fact, but what is not clear is the reason why. Researchers from four Madrid-based health centres have shown that family conflict is not a significant factor. However, the results published in the journal AtenciÃön Primaria are striking: in Spain, 24% of women take antidepressants and more than 30% take tranquillisers.

Secrets Revealed About How Disease-Causing DNA Mutations Occur
A team of Penn State scientists has shed light on the processes that lead to certain human DNA mutations that are implicated in hundreds of inherited diseases such as tuberous sclerosis and neurofibromatosis type 1. The results one day could influence the way couples who seek to have children receive genetic counseling. The team, led by Kateryna Makova, an associate professor of biology, also includes Erika Kvikstad, a graduate student in the Department of Biology, and Francesca Chiaromonte, an associate professor of statistics. Their findings will be published in the July 2009 issue of the journal Genome Research.
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Alternative Therapies For Fighting Eczema Hold Promise, But Dermatologists Caution They Are No Substitute For Proven Medical Treatments
Despite having access to some of the best health care in the world, many Americans with the most common form of eczema, known as atopic dermatitis, have sought relief from "alternative medicines." However, dermatologists caution that patients seeking alternative treatments to alleviate symptoms of this common, chronic, inflammatory skin disease marked by red, itchy rashes, risk developing more severe symptoms by delaying treatment.
Mental Health

Tummy Troubles -- Gastrin Key In Bacterial-Induced Stomach Cancer

Current research suggests that levels of gastrin play a key role in the development of Helicobacter-induced stomach cancer. The related report by Takaishi et al, "Gastrin is an essential cofactor for Helicobacter-associated gastric corpus carcinogenesis in C57BL/6 mice," appears in the July 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. More than 50% of the world"s population is infected with Helicobacter pylori, which causes chronic inflammation of the stomach lining and is strongly linked to the development of gastric ulcers and stomach cancer. Stomach cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths world-wide. Helicobacter infection results in increased expression of gastrin, a hormone that stimulates secretion of gastric acid; however, the role of gastrin in cancer development remains unclear. High levels of gastrin lead to the development of stomach cancer, but absence of gastrin has been shown to increase the numbers of tumors in the gastric antrum, the lower section of the stomach that empties into the small intestine. To reconcile this apparent disparity, a group led by Dr. Timothy Wang at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, NY examined the contribution of Helicobacter infection to gastric cancer in animal models with either high expression of gastrin or no gastrin at all. They found that Helicobacter infection in mice with high levels of gastrin resulted in cancer of the gastric corpus (main body of the stomach), whereas infection in gastrin-deficient mice developed cancer in a different part of the stomach, the gastric antrum. Gastrin, therefore, plays a key role in the development of Helicobacter-induced stomach cancer, but may have distinct effects on carcinogenesis in different parts of the stomach. Takaishi et al suggest that "gastrin may serve as a rheostat for the stomach. Gastrin likely plays a central role in the safety network for the protection from mucosal damages caused by gastric acid secretion induced by gastrin itself, and thus either too much or too little gastrin can predispose to carcinogenesis. Therefore, clinicians in the future may need to be more circumspect when prescribing with acid suppressive drugs, such as proton-pump inhibitors, for a long-term use in patients infected with Helicobacter pylori." In future studies, Dr. Wang and colleagues plan to study "host factors other than gastrin [that] are also ò€¦ important for Helicobacter-associated gastric carcinogenesis. These include specific cytokines and chemokines induced by Helicobacter infection, and modulated by gastrin, that link inflammation and cancer. In addition, they plan to study the role of other non-Helicobacter bacteria that colonize the stomach when acid secretion is suppressed, since bacterial overgrowth likely contributes to gastric carcinogenesis". This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Medical Research Council, the Welcome Trust and the Wolfson Foundation. Takaishi S, Tu S, Dubeykovskaya ZA, Whary MT, Muthupalani S, Rickman BH, Rogers AB, Lertkowit N, Varro A, Fox JG, Wang TC: Gastrin is an essential cofactor for Helicobacter-associated gastric corpus carcinogenesis in C57BL/6 mice. Am J Pathol 2009 175: 2775-2786 Angela Colmone American Journal of Pathology


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