Common pregnancy complication linked to childhood seizures
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, utilized clinical databases containing over 246 million patients and lab mice studies.
Researchers found that children born to mothers with high blood pressure during pregnancy had significantly higher rates of seizures.
Mice testing confirmed increased seizure sensitivity and death due to seizures in offspring exposed to gestational hypertension in the womb.
The study also indicated that male offspring were more vulnerable and that brain inflammation played a significant role in the disease process, suggesting it may also do so in human children.
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The Independent
a few seconds ago
- The Independent
The future of cancer treatment is ‘personalized' mRNA vaccines. Experts fear RFK research cuts will jeopardize that
Scientists have discovered the ability to 'personalize' cancer treatments using cutting-edge genetic technology - but experts fear that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s, recent funding cuts will have 'a profound chilling effect' on U.S. progress in this area of medicine. The new mRNA vaccines are specifically engineered to address the genetic differences of each patient with stomach cancer, according to Japanese researchers in a study published Tuesday, which makes them more effective than standard treatments. But, vaccine experts told The Independent that $500 million cuts to mRNA development at Emory University, Pfizer, and other institutions in flu, Covid and infectious disease vaccines could be devastating to progress in the U.S. 'Secretary Kennedy's decision to cancel $500 million in contracts and spread lies about the safety and protection offered by mRNA vaccines will have a profound chilling effect on innovative medical research,' Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, told The Independent in an email. 'mRNA vaccines hold tremendous promise to not only protect us from some of the worst infections, but also from devastating diseases like cancer,' she added. 'Rather than look forward at the promise of life-saving cures, the secretary would prefer that we look backwards towards the dark ages when these diseases ravaged us.' mRNA vaccines work differently from traditional vaccines, which inject a weakened virus into the body to trigger an immune response. Instead, mRNA vaccines teach the body's cells to make small and harmless pieces of virus that trigger the same response. The only mRNA vaccines currently available are Covid vaccines, but cancer vaccines work by getting the body to attack the disease. The new vaccines, described in the Japanese study, harness this technology and advance it by targeting unique spots on tumors. Last week, Kennedy said he would wind down some mRNA vaccine development, saying that the Department of Health and Human Services was 'shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.' Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has spread misinformation that mRNA Covid vaccines are deadly and that vaccines 'poisoned' American children, despite decades of public research and countless government assessments that have deemed them safe. HHS's mRNA cuts have not impacted cancer vaccine research, which is underway at the Texas-based Baylor College of Medicine and other medical institutions, Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine scientist and pediatrician at the school, said. Baylor had announced it was testing the effectiveness of personalized mRNA vaccines in 2023. But, funding cuts and denouncements of the tech can affect the field more broadly. 'Therefore it's important that the federal government and the Department of Health and Human Services reverse their position on mRNA vaccines and throw their support behind this technology,' Hotez said. Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told The Independent that mRNA research in the fight against cancer is 'critical.' 'It's tragic that we have wrapped this up into politics, which will only hurt our ability to move forward,' he said. HHS told The Independent said that recent $500m cuts to Covid, flu and infectious disease mRNA vaccines would not impact other medical research in the area. 'Technologies that were funded during the emergency phase but failed to meet current scientific standards will be phased out in favor of evidence-based, ethically grounded solutions – like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms. Other uses of mRNA technology within the department are not impacted by this announcement,' Press Secretary Emily Hilliard said in an email. The new study, from Kindai University in Osaka, explains that the vaccine targets the unique biological signatures of each patient's tumor cells. 'NeoAgs, derived from individual genetic alterations in each cancer patient, serve as unique immunological targets on tumor cells and represent the key to personalized immunotherapy,' Kindai University's Professor Kazuhiro Kakimi said in a statement. The mRNA vaccine helps the body create more cancer-attacking white blood cells and resulted in tumors shrinking or disappearing. When used with an unnamed cancer drug, it had a heightened effect on tackling the tumor, the study found. The Japanese researchers said the vaccine was particularly effective on peritoneal metastasis, the condition when stomach cancer spreads to the lining of the abdomen. It is one of the most common forms of reoccurring cancer following surgery for stomach cancer. Stomach cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in the world. The U.S. is estimated to see 30,300 new cases of stomach cancer and 10,780 deaths this year, according to the American Cancer Society. It disproportionally affects men, with more than 2,000 more deaths than women.
Daily Mail
a few seconds ago
- Daily Mail
Vaccine on RFK Jr's chopping block could protect against one of the deadliest cancers
Experimental mRNA vaccines shrouded in controversy may protect against one of America's deadliest cancers, a new study suggests. Researchers across the country tested a personalized mRNA vaccine on people with pancreatic cancer who had already had surgery and still had traces of the disease remaining. Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest forms of the disease to treat, with a five-year survival rate of just 12 percent. And most cases are diagnosed after the disease has ravaged other organs, as it symptoms are usually mistaken for more benign issues. The vaccine uses mRNA technology, which uses RNA to tell cells how to make proteins and induce an immune reaction, to targets mutations of the KRAS gene. KRAS mutations are thought to be responsible for nine in 10 pancreatic cancers and nearly half of colon cancers. The researchers, from major institutions like Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), found about 85 percent of participants had an immune response to the vaccine. And two-thirds had enough of a response to stave off lingering cancer cells. Participants also lived more than twice as long after getting the vaccine than pancreatic cancer patients on average. Dr Zev Wainberg, trial leader and co-director of the UCLA gastrointestinal oncology program, told NBC News: 'That far exceeds the rates with resectable cancers.' Resectable cancers are those than can be removed with surgery. mRNA technology, which is also used in Covid vaccines, has been hailed a 'game-changer' in the cancer space, leading to a mountain of new trials testing if it can be used in vaccines. In one research paper out of Penn State College of Medicine, the scientists note: 'mRNA vaccines are an attractive and powerful immunotherapeutic platform against cancer because of their high potency, specificity, versatility, rapid and large-scale development capability, low-cost manufacturing potential, and safety.' Despite expert consensus and scientific evidence, however, Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has repeatedly cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of mRNA vaccines. Earlier this month he announced the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would cancel nearly $500million in contracts for new vaccine development, including those for mRNA shots. Pancreatic cancer affects roughly 67,000 Americans every year and kills about 52,000. Along with colon cancer, it is also increasingly affecting young people. More than half the time, the disease is first spotted after it has already reached stage three or four due to its vague symptoms. These include abdominal pain, weight loss, back pain, jaundice and floating or clay-colored stools. This leads patients to assume their symptoms are from more benign causes like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). By the time it reaches stage four, the five-year survival rate is just three percent, making it virtually incurable. It's unclear exactly what causes pancreatic cancer, but smoking, obesity and diabetes are thought to increase the risk by inducing harmful inflammation that causes cells to divide and become mutated more easily. In the new phase I trial, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, doctors recruited 20 people with pancreatic cancer and five with colorectal cancer. All participants had a KRAS mutation and had undergone standard treatment, which usually includes chemotherapy and surgery, to shrink and remove most of their tumors. Blood tests revealed the patients had traces of cells left behind, known as microscopic residual disease, which can travel elsewhere in the body and grow into tumors. After surgery, each participant received up to six doses of the vaccine, called ELI-002 2P, and 13 also received booster shots. The team found 85 percent, or 21 out of 25 participants, showed an immune response to the vaccine, and about 66 percent had enough of an immune response to stave off lingering cancer cells. And in nearly 70 percent of participants, the vaccine triggered an immune response not just to KRAS mutations but to other tumor cell targets not in the vaccine. The phase 1 trial also showed people with pancreatic cancer survived for an average of 29 months and lived recurrence-free for 15 months. The average survival length for patients with stage four pancreatic cancer, which is when most are diagnosed, is usually just six months to a year. The team is now running a phase 2 trial to test the vaccine's durability and compare if it is more effective than the current standard of care, which involves monitoring for disease recurrence.
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Map reveals where Americans are at highest risk of number one killer... and the shocking reason why
Americans in about three dozen counties are being exposed to dangerous air pollution that puts them at a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease. A research team from the University of Michigan constructed a map of the more than 15,000 cattle and hog feeding operations in the US and found a quarter are located in just 30 US counties out of more than 3,000. Based on the analysis, the factory farms occupy an area of about 500,000 football fields, with cattle operations representing almost 80 percent of that total. For comparison, there are about 16,000 high school football fields in the country. Researchers found that these factory farms are putting millions of Americans at risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the US, and respiratory issues by pumping out high amounts of pollutants called PM2.5. PM2.5 levels in the air near the animal feeding operations, or AFOs (large-scale facilities where animals are confined for concentrated feeding), were higher than in similar counties without such operations. PM2.5 levels were 28 percent higher than average in tracts of land with cattle operations and 11 percent higher in areas with hog farms. Both short-term and long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been found to trigger heart attacks, stroke, and other cardiovascular events. Some states with the highest density of factory farms (more than 300 per county) include Idaho, California, Utah, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. In the study, the researchers focused on PM2.5 levels. PM2.5 denotes particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or less. They are about one millionth of an inch, meaning these particles are easily inhaled by anyone exposed to them. The pollution is linked to a number of heart, lung and airway health effects. 'It lingers in the air and can get really deep into your lungs and create scar tissue. It's nasty stuff. There are really no safe levels of it,' said Benjamin Goldstein, a senior author of the new study. The researchers note that the American Medical Association has estimated that for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter (10μg/m3) increase in PM2.5, there is a corresponding four percent increase in overall mortality, with a six percent increase in cardiopulmonary mortality and an eight percent increase in lung cancer mortality. These health impacts have been observed at communities up to 11 miles from AFOs. In the study, an analysis revealed that tracts of land with cattle AFOs exhibit an average PM2.5 concentration of 7.7μg/m3. This is 1.7μg/m3 higher than identical tracts without these facilities. Similarly, the areas with hog farms show an average PM2.5 concentration of 9.2μg/m3, which is 0.9μg/m3 higher than spots without such facilities. The researchers said of these findings: 'These confirm that AFOs are associated with elevated local PM2.5 levels. Given the absence of a safe PM2.5 exposure limits, even slight increases in particulate pollution from AFOs pose health risks to nearby populations.' AFOs release a variety of air pollutants including ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methane, particulate matter (PM), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The researchers said: 'Because of high stocking densities at AFOs, vegetation is scarce, and animal hooves often kick up dust. 'The sheer number of animals also produce immense volumes of manure and urine. 'These activities generate airborne particulate matter, both directly as dust and indirectly through precursors volatilized at manure lagoons.' The researchers found cattle farms are primarily concentrated in select counties within California, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Idaho, Iowa, and Texas, while hog farms are mostly clustered in Iowa, North Carolina, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Several of these states have the highest rates of heart disease mortality in the US. Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, claim more lives than all forms of cancer and accidental deaths combined, according to the American Heart Association. It has been the leading cause of death in the US since 1950. In 2023, it was responsible for about one in three deaths, killing 919,000 people. According to 2022 CDC data, the latest statewide available, Oklahoma had the highest heart disease mortality at 257 deaths per 100,000 people. And the leading cause of death in all the other states, aside from Minnesota, is heart disease. Previous studies have found that people who live within a few miles of an animal feeding operation are more likely to die from a cardiovascular problem than people who do not live near an animal facility. The pollutants have also been found to increase the risk of contracting respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis. The researchers said they were concerned to find that communities near AFOs are 'often lower income, less educated, and composed of higher proportions of racial minorities compared to more distant neighborhoods'. Specifically, these communities were more likely to have lower levels of health insurance coverage 'One of the things that this study reveals is that we could focus on a limited number of counties to really address health impacts in these communities,' said Joshua Newell, a senior author of the report published in Communications Earth & Environment. He added that creating the map is important for policymakers, governments, and community groups to 'develop very targeted policies or measures' moving forward. Although entities like the EPA and the Department of Agriculture do collect some data on AFOs, there's variability and inconsistency in how that data is reported across the country. As a result, the existent body of data was messy and limited in its scope and accuracy, lead author Sanaz Chamanara said. For example, she combined government data to start with an original list of more than 10,000 AFO locations. But as Chamanara started verifying those locations with satellite imagery, she found thousands of sites without active AFOs. 'I can't remember the exact numbers, but, at the end, the data contained just about 5,000 locations,' Chamanara said, a number that was far too low to be accurate. 'I saw that and said, "This doesn't make sense." And that's when I started developing the whole data set.' A community science project called Counterglow provided information on where to start looking for the missing AFOs, but Chamanara still had to comb through satellite imagery of every continental US county to locate the operations. Because nationwide data is available on air quality and the socioeconomic makeup of communities, the team could use its new data and systematically examine correlations with the presence of AFOs on an 'unprecedented scale'. Researchers have examined such connections before, but previous studies were constrained to much smaller, local extents. The researchers used census data to analyze the sociodemographic makeup of the communities near feeding operations. 'The meat you eat comes from somewhere. It takes up a lot of space and produces a lot of pollution,' Goldstein said. 'And somebody else and place has to bear that pollution.'
