Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Curcumin: A Folklore Remedy From Kitchen On The Way To Clinic As Cancer Drug, Debasish Bandyopadhyay

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Numerous compounds are widely distributed in nature and many of these possess medicinal/biological/pharmacological activity. Curcumin, a polyphenol derived from the rhizomes (underground stems) of Curcuma longa Linn (a member of the ginger family, commonly known as turmeric) is a culinary spice and therapeutic used in India for thousands of years to induce color and flavor in food as well as to treat a wide array of diseases. The origin of turmeric as spice and folklore medicine is so old that it is lost in legend. Curcumin has many beneficial pharmacological effects which includes, but are not limited with, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, …

Interaction Of Disease, Drugs, And Disposition In Ewing's Sarcoma Patients, Madeline Martin

Honors Theses

Ewing's Sarcoma is a pediatric bone cancer that is highly aggressive, leading to a five year survival rate of not only 30% even with multi-modal treatment protocols. Improved therapeutic options are desperately needed. Our research has focused on the ability of the psychoactive cannabinoid, ajulemic acid, to induce apoptosis and decrease metastatic potential in cells from members of the Ewing Sarcoma family of tumors. Recently, we explored the effects of the naturally-occuring cannabinoid, cannabidiol, on three-dimensional spheroids that mimic the cellular components and microenvironment of Ewing's tumors. We looked at how this treatment affects VEGF, a mediator of angiogenesis, to …

Use Of An Electronic Educational Module To Educate Advanced Practice Nurses On Preventive Care Protocol For Immunocompromised Patients, Simi Jesto Joseph Dr, Audrey Klopp Dr

Manipal Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences

Immunocompromised patients are at increased risk of infections and certain cancers due to the immunosuppressed body as well as the immunosuppressive agents. Despite American national organizations’ specific guidelines for immunocompromised patients, reported vaccination rates and provider compliance on preventive services is low. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and clinical practice among Advanced Practice Nurses (APN) in preventive care for immunocompromised patients and educating APNs to improve their knowledge and practice skills using an evidence-based preventive care protocol. Methods: APN members of Illinois Society of Advanced Practice Nurses (ISAPN) organization were surveyed by a needs assessment …

Transposon Based Gene Therapy As A Treatment For Cancer, Jacob Stauber

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Gene therapy is the use of genes to treat or prevent diseases. Diseases such as cancer, which are difficult to treat using conventional methods, can be treated using gene therapy. The transport of the therapeutic transgene can be accomplished using viral or non-viral methods. However, widespread use of viral vectors is limited due to its high cost of manufacture and safety concern. Non-viral vectors are limited in their effectiveness. The use of transposons such as the Sleeping Beauty transposon system can effectively deliver the transgene with less concern than viral vectors. This review discusses the various vectors and treatment strategies …

Epigenetics As A Cure For Cancer, Sara Rivka Margolis

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Epigenetics is an emerging research topic that is being tested as a potential cure for cancer. Epigenetics is a non-genetic influence that shapes the phenotype. Epigenetics effects gene expression, but does not cause any changes in the DNA. DNA methylation patterns is one such epigenetic change in the cell that has huge potential for cancer treatment. Scientists have observed that many cancerous genes express signs of either hypermethylation or hypomethylation. The key for the treatment is that epigenetic changes are reversible, which opens the door to potential drugs to cure cancer and other diseases.

Why Are People With Laron Syndrome Immune To Cancer?, Raquel Margolis

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Laron syndrome is a congenital autosomal recessive disorder that is caused by a mutation in the growth hormone receptor. People with this syndrome have an insensitivity to growth hormone. Insulin-like growth factor 1 is produced by the liver in response to GH stimulus. It is responsible for systemic GH activities. If there is something wrong with the growth hormone receptor there will be decreased levels of IGF-1. Low IGF-1 levels cause physical deformities notable short stature. Additionally, people with low levels of IGF-1 have a natural resistance to cancer. This article discusses the ways that the decreased levels of IGF-1 …

Therapeutic Animal Camp For Children Affected By Cancer, Katie Fleck

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research project looks at the therapeutic benefits of an animal camp for children touched by cancer. Animal assisted therapy techniques were used for children to connect with animals during a week long summer camp. The benefits of working with animals are discussed, as well as research on many therapeutic activities including reiki, labyrinth walking, zentangle drawing, yoga, and drumming. Past camp attendees were recorded and interviewed about their personal experiences at camp. Caregivers of campers were also interviewed, who shared about the positive impact camp had on their family. Multiple benefits were found for this type of camp in …

Tumor Growth Increases Neuroinflammation, Fatigue And Depressive-Like Behavior Prior To Alterations In Muscle Function, Diana M. Norden, Sabahattin Bicer, Yvonne Clark, Runfeng Jing, Christopher J. Henry, Loren E. Wold, Peter J. Reiser, Jonathan P. Godbout, Donna O. Mccarthy

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Cancer patients frequently suffer from fatigue, a complex syndrome associated with loss of muscle mass, weakness, and depressed mood. Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) can be present at the time of diagnosis, during treatment, and persists for years after treatment. CRF negatively influences quality of life, limits functional independence, and is associated with decreased survival in patients with incurable disease. Currently there are no effective treatments to reduce CRF. The aim of this study was to use a mouse model of tumor growth and discriminate between two main components of fatigue: loss of muscle mass/function and altered mood/motivation. Here we show that …

Synthesis, Surface Functionalization, And Biological Testing Of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles For Development As A Cancer Therapeutic, Stanley E. Gilliland Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Iron oxide nanoparticles are highly researched for their use in biomedical applications such as drug delivery, diagnosis, and therapy. The inherent biodegradable and biocompatible nanoparticle properties make them highly advantageous in nanomedicine. The magnetic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles make them promising candidates for magnetic fluid hyperthermia applications. Designing an efficient iron oxide nanoparticle for hyperthermia requires synthetic, surface functionalization, stability, and biological investigations. This research focused on the following three areas: optimizing synthesis conditions for maximum radiofrequency induced magnetic hyperthermia, designing a simple and modifiable surface functionalization method for specific or broad biological stability, and in vitro and in …

Interaction Between Atm Kinase And P53 In Determining Glioma Radiosensitivity, Syed F. Ahmad

Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor. Studies have shown that targeting the DNA damage response can sensitize cancer cells to DNA damaging agents. Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is involved in signaling DNA double strand breaks. Our group has previously shown that ATM inhibitors (ATMi) sensitize GBM cells and tumors to ionizing radiation. This effect is greater when the tumor suppressor p53 is mutated.

The goals of this work include validation of a new ATM inhibitor, AZ32, and elucidation of how ATMi and p53 status interact to promote cell death after radiation. We propose that ATMi and …

Bayesian Survival Analysis Of Genetic Variants In Ptprn2 Gene For Age At Onset Of Cancer, Ke-Sheng Wang, Yue Pan, Weize Wang, Chun Xu

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: The protein tyrosine phosphatase, receptor type, N polypeptide 2 (PTPRN2) gene may play a role in cancer; however, no study has focused on the associations of genetic variants within the PTPRN2 gene with age at onset (AAO) of cancer.

Methods: This study examined 220 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the PTPRN2 gene in the Marshfield sample with 716 cancer cases (any diagnosed cancer, excluding minor skin cancer) and 2,848 non-cancer controls. Multiple logistic regression model and linear regression model in PLINK software were used to examine the association of each SNP with the risk of cancer and AAO, respectively. …

Statistical Modeling Of Microrna Expression With Human Cancers, Ke-Sheng Wang, Yue Pan, Chun Xu

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (containing about 22 nucleotides) that regulate gene expression. MiRNAs are involved in many different biological processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, fat metabolism, and human cancer genes; while miRNAs may function as candidates for diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and predictors of drug response. This paper emphasizes the statistical methods in the analysis of the associations of miRNA gene expression with human cancers and related clinical phenotypes: 1) simple statistical methods include chi-square test, correlation analysis, t-test and one-way ANOVA; 2) regression models include linear and logistic regression; 3) survival analysis approaches such as …

Drug-Induced Cardiotoxicity Of Oncological Agents: Monitoring Parameters, Prevention, And Future Chemotherapy, Sarah Nguyen, Mary Nguyen, Laura Tsu

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The goal of this article is to educate pharmacists of the impact of cardiotoxicity on chemotherapy regimens including key cancer agents, monitoring parameters, prevention, and the future of chemotherapy.