First gene therapy study in human salivary gland shows promise

Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Date: Monday, November 5, 2012 Gene therapy can be performed safely in the human salivary gland, according to scientists at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health. This finding comes from the first-ever safety, or Phase I, clinical study of gene therapy in a human salivary gland. Its results, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also show that the transferred gene, Aquaporin-1, has great potential to help head and neck cancer survivors who battle with chronic dry mouth. Aquaporin-1 encodes a protein that naturally forms pore-like water channels in the membranes of cells to help move fluid, such as occurs when salivary gland cells secrete saliva into the mouth. These initial results clear the way for additional gene therapy studies in the salivary glands. Although sometimes overlooked, salivary glands present an ideal target for gene therapy. They are easily accessible and, once a gene is introduced, it has no obvious escape route into the bloodstream, where it can have unintended consequences. “You cannot imagine how fulfilling it is to jot down an idea on a napkin in 1991 and then see it enter a clinical trial and help people.,” said Bruce Baum, D.M.D., Ph.D., lead author on the study and recently retired NIDCR scientist who spent the last 21 years moving gene therapy in the salivary glands from the research bench to the clinic. “Can a scientist ask for anything [...]

2012-11-06T14:45:46-07:00November, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

CDC urges 50-state anti-smoking effort

Source: CNN Author: Ann Curley In 2007, the Institute of Medicine, the medical branch of the National Academy of Sciences, released "Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation," stating a goal of eliminating smoking as a public health problem in the United States. The strategies included strengthening and fully activating tobacco control methods similar to the CDC's plans, as well as tobacco regulation. In 2008, the World Health Organization's MPOWER program outlined additional steps that complemented and reinforced the other agencies' recommendations. As an example of the success of these strategies, the CDC cites the state of California, which has one of the oldest comprehensive tobacco control programs. California cut adult smoking rates from 22.7 percent in 1988 to 13.3 percent in 2006. That reduction in smoking accelerated the decline of heart disease deaths and lung cancer incidence in California, compared with the rest of the country. In 2009, 14 states and the District of Columbia implemented an excise tax on cigarettes. Those state tax hikes followed a 62-cent federal cigarette tax hike instituted by Congress in April 2009. Twenty-four states and D.C. have comprehensive smoke-free laws. Seven states do not have statewide smoke-free laws of any type: Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming. While some progress has been made in getting more states to implement tobacco control measures, the report stresses that much more is still needed. The CDC's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs 2007 noted that states could plan and [...]

2010-04-23T11:17:16-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|
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