Brain Tumor News: The curry spice curcumin selectively inhibits cancer cells growth in vitro and in preclinical model of glioblastoma.

Posted on: 07/22/2011

J Nutr Biochem. 2011 Jul 18. [Epub ahead of print]
The curry spice curcumin selectively inhibits cancer cells growth in vitro and in preclinical model of glioblastoma.

Zanotto-Filho A, Braganhol E, Edelweiss MI, Behr GA, Zanin R, Schröder R, Simões-Pires A, Battastini AM, Moreira JC.

Source

Centro de Estudos em Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.



Abstract

Previous studies suggested that curcumin is a potential agent against glioblastomas (GBMs). However, the in vivo efficacy of curcumin in gliomas remains not established. In this work, we examined the mechanisms underlying apoptosis, selectivity, efficacy and safety of curcumin from in vitro (U138MG, U87, U373 and C6 cell lines) and in vivo (C6 implants) models of GBM. In vitro, curcumin markedly inhibited proliferation and migration and induced cell death in liquid and soft agar models of GBM growth. Curcumin effects occurred irrespective of the p53 and PTEN mutational status of the cells. Interestingly, curcumin did not affect viability of primary astrocytes, suggesting that curcumin selectivity targeted transformed cells. In U138MG and C6 cells, curcumin decreased the constitutive activation of PI3K/Akt and NFkappaB survival pathways, down-regulated the antiapoptotic NFkappaB-regulated protein bcl-xl and induced mitochondrial dysfunction as a prelude to apoptosis. Cells developed an early G2/M cell cycle arrest followed by sub-G1 apoptosis and apoptotic bodies formation. Caspase-3 activation occurred in the p53-normal cell type C6, but not in the p53-mutant U138MG. Besides its apoptotic effect, curcumin also synergized with the chemotherapeutics cisplatin and doxorubicin to enhance GBM cells death. In C6-implanted rats, intraperitoneal curcumin (50 mg kg(-1) d(-1)) decreased brain tumors in 9/11 (81.8%) animals against 0/11 (0%) in the vehicle-treated group. Importantly, no evidence of tissue (transaminases, creatinine and alkaline phosphatase), metabolic (cholesterol and glucose), oxidative or hematological toxicity was observed. In summary, data presented here suggest curcumin as a potential agent for therapy of GBMs.



Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

BBC News - 'Sat nav' cancer device at Merseyside centre

About 800 patients are due to benefit from the machine at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in its first year.

A groundbreaking radiotherapy device which could transform the way some cancer patients are treated goes into service on Merseyside later.

The Novalis Tx machine will allow doctors to treat tumours almost anywhere in the body in one session.

It uses a system similar to a 'sat nav' to destroy cancerous cells but helps to protect surrounding healthy tissue.

About 800 patients are due to benefit from the machine at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in its first year.

Dr Brian Haylock, consultant oncologist and clinical director for radiotherapy, said: "Unlike some other highly specialised radiation treatment machines, the Novalis Tx can treat many different types of cancer all over the body allowing us to treat more cancer patients with a single device.

"This coupled with the speed with which we can treat patients - in some cases in as little as 15 minutes in just one session - means the equipment will be available for the benefit of more patients here in the UK."
'Inspirational stuff'

The machines will also go into service at two other centres in Manchester and Edinburgh.

Almost 300,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK every year.

Recent estimates show that of those, almost 50,000 people develop either primary or secondary brain tumours.

Sue Farrington-Smith, director of Brain Tumour Research, said: "We are delighted that advanced brain tumour treatments like the Novalis Tx are now available to cancer patients on the NHS.

"The work of Clatterbridge and The Walton Centre Trusts in Liverpool will undoubtedly provide the best cancer care for their patients. This is inspirational stuff."
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Is meditation the push-up for the brain?

NewsRx.com

07-21-11

Two years ago, researchers at UCLA found that specific regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger and had more gray matter than the brains of individuals in a control group. This suggested that meditation may indeed be good for all of us since, alas, our brains shrink naturally with age.

Now, a follow-up study suggests that people who meditate also have stronger connections between brain regions and show less age-related brain atrophy. Having stronger connections influences the ability to rapidly relay electrical signals in the brain. And significantly, these effects are evident throughout the entire brain, not just in specific areas.

Eileen Luders, a visiting assistant professor at the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, and colleagues used a type of brain imaging known as diffusion tensor imaging, or DTI, a relatively new imaging mode that provides insights into the structural connectivity of the brain. They found that the differences between meditators and controls are not confined to a particular core region of the brain but involve large-scale networks that include the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes and the anterior corpus callosum, as well as limbic structures and the brain stem.

The study appears in the current online edition of the journal NeuroImage.

"Our results suggest that long-term meditators have white-matter fibers that are either more numerous, more dense or more insulated throughout the brain," Luders said. "We also found that the normal age-related decline of white-matter tissue is considerably reduced in active meditation practitioners."
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Understanding the antiepileptic benefits of an Atkins-like diet

ScienceDaily (July 8, 2011) — Some individuals with epilepsy fail to respond to treatment with conventional drugs but benefit from consuming a ketogenic diet -- a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet similar to the more commonly known Atkins diet. A team of researchers, led by Detlev Boison, at the Legacy Research Institute, Portland, has now identified in mice the molecular mechanism responsible for the antiepileptic effects of the ketogenic diet.

The team found that a ketogenic diet reduces seizures in mice by decreasing expression of the protein Adk, which is responsible for clearing the natural antiepileptic agent adenosine from the brain. The clinical relevance of these data are highlighted by the team's finding that brain tissue from patients with epilepsy that fails to respond to treatment with conventional drugs shows increased levels of Adk.

The team suggests that their data could lead to the development of less-restrictive antiepileptic diets and alternate pharmaceutical approaches to treatment, notions with which Robert Greene, at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, concurs in an accompanying commentary.

The research is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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