5 nurses who work on the same floor at Massachusetts hospital have brain tumors
A Boston-area hospital is investigating after five nurses who have worked on the same floor have developed brain tumors.
Mass General Brigham Newton-Wellesley Hospital said that in total, 11 employees from the fifth-floor maternity unit identified health concerns. Five had brain tumors, all of which are benign. Two of those have the most common, benign type — meningioma, according to the hospital in Newton, Massachusetts, which is about 10 miles west of Boston.
'The investigation found no environmental risks which could be linked to the development of a brain tumor,' the hospital's Jonathan Sonis, associate chief medical officer, and Sandy Muse, chief nursing officer, said in a statement.
The hospital said its investigation was completed in collaboration with government health and safety officials and it considered multiple possible sources. It ruled out disposable masks, the water supply, nearby x-rays, and chemotherapy treatment on the floor below, the hospital said.
'Based on these results, we can confidently reassure our dedicated team ... and all our patients that there is no environmental risk at our facility," the administrators said.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association, the union that bargains for nurses' compensation at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, said it will continue to investigate.
"Right now, the best way we can help is to complete an independent, scientific investigation," MNA spokesperson Joe Markman said in a statement Friday. "That effort is underway and may take additional weeks."
The union indicated that nurses came forward with workplace health concerns, which led to the discovery of those with tumors.
'The hospital only spoke to a small number of nurses, and their environmental testing was not comprehensive,' he said in his statement. 'The hospital cannot make this issue go away by attempting to provide a predetermined conclusion.'
A spokesperson for a state agency was unable to provide conclusive information on the matter by deadline. Federal occupational health and safety officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The American Cancer Society says that in order to meet the definition of a cancer cluster, occurrences must be the same type, in the same area, with the same cause, and affecting a number of people that's "greater than expected" when a baseline for occurrences is established.
'Nearly 4 out of 10 people in the United States will develop cancer during their lifetimes," the society said on its cancer clusters webpage."So, it's not uncommon for several people in a relatively small area to develop cancer around the same time."
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BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
The everyday activity that can reveal your brain's age
The speed at which you walk can reveal profound insights into your brain's rate of ageing – with slower walkers having smaller brains and fundamental differences in crucial structures. It might seem trivial, but how quickly you can walk from A to B can reveal a great deal about the inner workings of your body and mind. Research has shown that the speed at which you walk to the shops, the local park, or the bus stop, can predict your chance of being hospitalised, suffering a heart attack, and even dying. In fact, a person's gait speed can even be used to reveal their rate of cognitive ageing. The walking speed test is a way of assessing someone's functional capacity – their ability to perform daily tasks around the house and maintain independence. It can also reveal how frail a person is, and predict how well they will respond to rehabilitation after a stroke. Although it is normal for people to walk more slowly as they age, a precipitous decline in the speed of someone's gait could indicate that something more serious is going on. "When a person's normal walking pace declines, it is often associated with underlying health declines," says Christina Dieli-Conwright, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, who studies the effects of exercise on cancer prognosis. "It might be that the person has a chronic condition which has meant that they haven't been moving as much or have become sedentary. That means that, more than likely, they've experienced a decrease in muscle strength, and joint mobility, which unfortunately leads to further health declines," says Dieli-Conwright. A simple technique To perform the walking speed test, all you need is a stopwatch and a way of measuring distance, such as a tape measure. There are two common versions. If you are outside and you have lots of space, you could try the 10m (33ft) walking speed test. First, measure out 5m (16.5ft), followed by another 10m. To get started, it's recommended to walk for 5m to get up to your normal speed, then walk at your normal pace for 10m. To calculate your walking speed simply divide 10m by the number of seconds it took to walk that distance. If you're at home and space is more limited, you could try the 4m (13.2ft) walking speed test. With this test, measure out 1m (3.3ft), followed by 4m. The idea is to use the first metre to get up to speed, then time how long it takes to walk for 4m at your usual pace. To work out your speed, divide four metres by the number of seconds it took you to walk that distance. Alternatively, there are many apps you can use to measure your walking speed, including fitness trackers like Walkmeter, MapMyWalk, Strava, and Google Fit, which use GPS to track distance and time, allowing them to calculate your speed. Studies have shown that gait speed is a significant predictor of life expectancy in older adults. For example, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh pooled together the results of nine studies which collectively tracked more than 34,000 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older aged between six and 21 years. The study showed that that gait speed was significantly associated with lifespan. For example, men with the slowest walking speeds at age 75 had a 19% chance of living for 10 years, compared to men with the fastest walking speeds who had an 87% chance of survival. One explanation is that people who are already unwell tend to be less mobile. However a 2009 study in France found that even amongst healthy adults aged over 65, participants with low walking speed were around three times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease during the study period compared with people who walked faster. "Walking seems like such a simple thing – most of us don't think about it, we just do it," says Line Rasmussen, a senior researcher in the department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University, North Carolina. "But walking actually relies on many different body systems working together: your bones and muscles carry and move you, your eyes help you see where you're going, your heart and lungs circulate blood and oxygen, and your brain and nerves coordinate it all," Rasmussen adds. According to Rasmussen, as we age, the function of these systems starts to slow down – and a slower walking speed can therefore reflect this overall decline and be a sign of advanced ageing. This doesn't just apply to older adults. In a 2019 study, Rasmussen and colleagues found that, even amongst 45-year-olds, a person's walking speed could predict the rate at which their brain and body were ageing. Rasmussen and researchers at Duke University took 904 people aged 45 who were part of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a longitudinal research project which has followed the lives of over 1,000 people born between 1972 and 1973 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Individuals in the cohort have had their health and cognitive function assessed regularly over their entire lifespans. "I was surprised by how much variation there was in walking speed among people who were all the same age," says Rasmussen. "You might expect everyone at 45 to be somewhere in the middle, but some walked as quickly as healthy 20-year-olds, while others walked as slowly as much older adults," she says. The study revealed that 45-year-olds with slower gait speeds showed signs of "accelerated ageing", with their lungs, teeth and immune systems in poorer shape compared to those who walked faster. They also had 'biomarkers' associated with a faster rate of ageing, such as raised blood pressure, high cholesterol, and lower cardiorespiratory fitness. The found that slow walkers had other signs of physical ill health, too, such as weaker hand-grip strength and more difficulty rising from a chair. (Read more from the BBC about the test for your chances of living to 100 and the test that reveals how well you're ageing.) Rasmussen and colleagues also found that slow walkers showed signs of advanced cognitive ageing. For example, they tended to score lower on IQ tests overall, performing worse on tests of memory, processing speed, reasoning and other cognitive functions. MRI scans also showed that this cognitive deterioration was accompanied by observable changes in the participants' brains. Slower walkers had smaller brains, a thinner neocortex – the outermost layer of the brain, which controls thinking and higher information processing – and more white matter. Intriguingly, even the faces of slow walkers were rated as ageing at a faster rate than the other participants. More like this:• Sit-to-stand: The simple test that reveals how you're ageing• Quick home health tests: Check your reaction times• Grip strength: The test for your chances of living to 100 In all, the research suggests that the bodies and brains of slow walkers age at a faster rate to those of quick walkers. There were also signs that these health differences were present from an early age, as researchers were able to predict the walking speed of 45-year-olds based on intelligence, language and motor skills tests taken when the participants were just three years old. "What surprised me most was finding a link between how fast people walked at age 45 and their cognitive abilities all the way back in early childhood," says Rasmussen. "This suggests that walking speed is not just a sign of ageing, but also a window into lifelong brain health." However, readers who class themselves as slow walkers needn't be too disheartened, as there are many things we can do to improve our walking speed. As part of her research to help cancer patients, Dieli-Conwright produces exercise regimes to help people recovering from chemotherapy regain their strength. Participants are advised to increase the duration and intensity of their walking exercise every three to four weeks to improve their fitness. And there are even simpler things that people can do. "Take any opportunity you can to walk more regularly, as remaining physically active is so important," says Dieli-Conwright. Her tips include parking further away from your destination, meeting up with friends to walk socially, or taking a pet to the local park. "It's important to take walking breaks, especially for individuals who have a more sedentary job," says Dieli-Conwright. "Even if it's just a five-minute walking break to go to the bathroom, or a five-minute quick walk around the block – it's vital to interrupt that sitting time." -- For trusted insights into better health and wellbeing rooted in science, sign up to the Health Fix newsletter, while The Essential List delivers a handpicked selection of features and insights. For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Powys County Times
3 days ago
- Powys County Times
Bowel cancer cells can ‘shapeshift' to enable aggressive spread, research finds
Bowel cancer cells can 'shapeshift' to resemble skin or muscle cells to enable them to spread aggressively, according to scientists who have hailed it as a major breakthrough they hope can help treat a surge of the disease in young people. A study by the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre and the University of Edinburgh found a key step in some aggressive forms of bowel cancer involved cancer cells losing their identity, known as cellular plasticity. Researchers found the disease can spread when colonic cells shed their identity and resemble squamous cells which form skin, or resemble muscle. Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK. It claims the lives of 16,800 people in Britain, including 1,700 in Scotland, every year and is increasingly being diagnosed in younger people internationally. A recent study by the American Cancer Society published in The Lancet Oncology showed early-onset bowel cancer rates in adults aged 25-49 are rising in 27 of 50 countries studied, and increasing faster in young women in Scotland and England than in young men. Scotland is disproportionately affected with around 4,000 people diagnosed each year overall, according to Cancer Research UK. The latest study found bowel cancer cells can adapt to resemble skin cells, which can tolerate much harsher day-to-day conditions due to their role and position protecting the outside of the body, and also muscle cells, both of which are more 'robust'. Cellular plasticity was found to be an important element in bowel cancer metastasis – when it spreads and becomes harder to treat. Researchers hope identifying this and preventing it could help make current treatments more effective and stop the disease from spreading. The study also examined a particular gene called Atrx which was already associated with aggressive forms of bowel cancer. Using mice and human tissue samples, researchers found the loss of this gene resulted in increased metastatic tumours which spread from the bowel to the liver, lymph nodes and the diaphragm. Key to the ability of these cells to spread is that they shed their identity of colonic cells and resembled squamous cells which form skin, or cells that resemble muscle. The paper, Loss Of Colonic Fidelity Enables Multilineage Plasticity And Metastasis, is published in Nature. The research received funding from the Medical Research Council and the European Research Council. Dr Kevin Myant, of the Institute of Genetics and Cancer at the University of Edinburgh and the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, said 'With more and more younger people being diagnosed with bowel cancer, it's vital we understand how this disease grows and develops. 'Our research has discovered one way that aggressive bowel cancer is able to spread is by 'shapeshifting' to resemble skin or muscle cells rather than bowel cancer cells. 'This finding will hopefully allow us to develop new treatments to stop these cells changing and prevent the cancer spreading, when it becomes much harder to treat.' Lead researcher Dr Patrizia Cammareri said: 'Skin cells can tolerate much harsher day-to-day conditions than other types of cells – due to their role and position protecting the outside of the body – so this may be a strategy to help the bowel cancer cells become more robust and enable them to spread around the body. 'Metastasis is a leading cause of cancer death and a key focus for cancer research, so this finding could be pivotal in halting the progression of aggressive cancer and providing better outcomes for patients.' Cancer Research UK director of research, Dr Catherine Elliott, said: 'Diagnosing and treating cancer early and preventing spread to other parts of the body offers the best chance of a positive outcome for patients so research like this, which could lead to new ways to stop that spread, offers great hope. 'Bowel cancer is of increasing concern globally, which is why we invested £5.5 million to the CRC-STARS initiative (Colorectal Cancer – Stratification of Therapies through Adaptive Responses) jointly led by our Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute, which will bring together more than 40 bowel cancer experts, including researchers who worked on this project, to find new and kinder ways to tackle this disease.'
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- South Wales Argus
Bowel cancer cells can ‘shapeshift' to enable aggressive spread, research finds
A study by the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre and the University of Edinburgh found a key step in some aggressive forms of bowel cancer involved cancer cells losing their identity, known as cellular plasticity. Researchers found the disease can spread when colonic cells shed their identity and resemble squamous cells which form skin, or resemble muscle. Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK. It claims the lives of 16,800 people in Britain, including 1,700 in Scotland, every year and is increasingly being diagnosed in younger people internationally. A recent study by the American Cancer Society published in The Lancet Oncology showed early-onset bowel cancer rates in adults aged 25-49 are rising in 27 of 50 countries studied, and increasing faster in young women in Scotland and England than in young men. Scotland is disproportionately affected with around 4,000 people diagnosed each year overall, according to Cancer Research UK. Bowel cancer cells were found to have 'shapeshifted' into skin cells, which are shown in brown (Dr Kevin Myant/PA) The latest study found bowel cancer cells can adapt to resemble skin cells, which can tolerate much harsher day-to-day conditions due to their role and position protecting the outside of the body, and also muscle cells, both of which are more 'robust'. Cellular plasticity was found to be an important element in bowel cancer metastasis – when it spreads and becomes harder to treat. Researchers hope identifying this and preventing it could help make current treatments more effective and stop the disease from spreading. The study also examined a particular gene called Atrx which was already associated with aggressive forms of bowel cancer. Using mice and human tissue samples, researchers found the loss of this gene resulted in increased metastatic tumours which spread from the bowel to the liver, lymph nodes and the diaphragm. Key to the ability of these cells to spread is that they shed their identity of colonic cells and resembled squamous cells which form skin, or cells that resemble muscle. The paper, Loss Of Colonic Fidelity Enables Multilineage Plasticity And Metastasis, is published in Nature. The research received funding from the Medical Research Council and the European Research Council. Dr Kevin Myant, of the Institute of Genetics and Cancer at the University of Edinburgh and the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, said 'With more and more younger people being diagnosed with bowel cancer, it's vital we understand how this disease grows and develops. 'Our research has discovered one way that aggressive bowel cancer is able to spread is by 'shapeshifting' to resemble skin or muscle cells rather than bowel cancer cells. 'This finding will hopefully allow us to develop new treatments to stop these cells changing and prevent the cancer spreading, when it becomes much harder to treat.' Lead researcher Dr Patrizia Cammareri said: 'Skin cells can tolerate much harsher day-to-day conditions than other types of cells – due to their role and position protecting the outside of the body – so this may be a strategy to help the bowel cancer cells become more robust and enable them to spread around the body. 'Metastasis is a leading cause of cancer death and a key focus for cancer research, so this finding could be pivotal in halting the progression of aggressive cancer and providing better outcomes for patients.' Cancer Research UK director of research, Dr Catherine Elliott, said: 'Diagnosing and treating cancer early and preventing spread to other parts of the body offers the best chance of a positive outcome for patients so research like this, which could lead to new ways to stop that spread, offers great hope. 'Bowel cancer is of increasing concern globally, which is why we invested £5.5 million to the CRC-STARS initiative (Colorectal Cancer – Stratification of Therapies through Adaptive Responses) jointly led by our Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute, which will bring together more than 40 bowel cancer experts, including researchers who worked on this project, to find new and kinder ways to tackle this disease.'
