An aspirin a day keeps the apple away

Taking aspirin every day may significantly reduce the risk of many cancers and prevent tumors from spreading, according to two new studies.

Researchers at the University of Oxford found that after three years of daily aspirin use, the risk of developing cancer was reduced by almost 25 percent when compared with a control group not taking aspirin. After five years, the risk of dying of cancer was reduced by 37 percent among those taking aspirin.

A second paper that analyzed five large randomized controlled studies in Britain found that over six and a half years on average, daily aspirin use reduced the risk of metastatic cancer by 36 percent and the risk of adenocarcinomas — common solid cancers including colon, lung and prostate cancer — by 46 percent.

“What really jumps out at you in terms of prevention is the striking 75 percent reduction in esophageal cancer and a 40 to 50 percent reduction in colorectal cancer, which is the most common cancer right now,” Dr. Peter M. Rothwell, a professor of clinical neurology at the University of Oxford, said. “In terms of prevention, anyone with a family history would be sensible to take aspirin.” 

But you have to talk to your doctor, because aspirin raises the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, but of hemorrhagic strokes.

A glimpse at the future of medicine

Michael Snyder knows his body better than anyone in history.

For two-and-a-half years, he's had regular blood samples drawn, and tracked the ebb and flow of 40,000 different molecules within his cells, from hormones to blood sugar, to the proteins of the immune system and mutated genes. Snyder also watched as his genetic vulnerability to diabetes turned into actual disease.

His story marks the first time anyone's physiology has ever been followed this closely, and portends the future of personalized medicine, according to Snyder and others.

"The future is now," says Charis Eng, a professor of genomic medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. "I think we're heading in this direction, and I think we must prepare in every way, not just scientifically, not just medically, but as a society—[considering] all the ethical, moral, and regulatory issues." 

During the course of the study, Snyder had his genome sequenced. The DNA testing suggested he was at risk for type 2 diabetes. Although his doctors didn't see any outward signs that he might be developing the condition, his self-testing revealed early signs. He later developed the disease.

A close reading of his body's data suggested to Snyder that his diabetes could have been triggered by a "pretty nasty cold" that forced him to skip work for a few days. 

Betul Hatipoglu, an endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic, doesn't think any specific virus caused Snyder's diabetes. But she says the coincident timing supports the idea that stress can unmask underlying vulnerabilities. "It could have been any other kind of stress that turned on that event," she says. "If you carry these genes, a big stress like a huge car accident could turn that on. The body uses many pathways to respond to stress."

Everybody needs to chill.

Miracles and wonders: printing muscle

Printing human muscle.

The real news in health care is the extraordinary advances being made daily. A sampling:

In a small clean room tucked into the back of San Diego–based startup Organovo, Chirag Khatiwala is building a thin layer of human skeletal muscle. He inserts a cartridge of specially prepared muscle cells into a 3-D printer, which then deposits them in uniform, closely spaced lines in a petri dish. This arrangement allows the cells to grow and interact until they form working muscle tissue that is nearly indistinguishable from something removed from a human subject.

It is estimated between 130 - 170 million people worldwide are infected with the hepatitis C, can lead to scarring of the liver and cirrhosis. Although treatment with medication is available, it isn't effective in all cases and between 20 to 30 percent of those infected with hepatitis C develop some form of liver disease. Now a team at the University of Alberta has developed a vaccine from a single strain that is effective against all known strains of the disease.

Starting this spring, for about $5,000, any oncologist will be able to ship a sliver of tumor in a bar-coded package to Foundation's Medicine's lab. Foundation will extract the DNA, sequence scores of cancer genes, and prepare a report to steer doctors and patients toward drugs, most still in early testing, that are known to target the cellular defects caused by the DNA errors the analysis turns up. About 70 percent of cases studied to date have yielded information that a doctor could act on—whether by prescribing a particular drug, stopping treatment with another, or enrolling the patient in a clinical trial.

Medical scientists at Stanford have created a tiny computer chip capable of navigating the body's blood vessels while monitoring patient health and delivering drugs. While the device holds medical promise, it was a breakthrough in mathematics that allowed researchers to overcome previous barriers to powering the chip. Traditional batteries take up too much space, not to mention the problem of corrosion. By recalculating old equations and accounting for the body as an electricity insulator, magnetism became a suitable power source.

Depressed? Take a hike.

Research suggests that the benefits of regular exercise can be powerful and comparable to those of an antidepressant for mild to moderate depression, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Researchers at Duke University randomly divided 202 adults diagnosed with major depression (average age 53) into four groups. Two groups engaged in aerobic exercise three times a week: one group at home and the other in a supervised class setting. The routine was a 10-minute warm-up followed by a half hour of walking or jogging on a treadmill and five minutes of cool-down exercises. The other two groups didn't exercise but were given a typical daily dosage (50 to 200 mg) of the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft) or a placebo.

Overall, 41 percent of participants achieved remission of depression after four months of treatment, and the percentage of each treatment group that reached this outcome was similar: 47 percent of the Zoloft takers, 45 percent of the supervised exercisers, and 40 percent of those who worked out at home. The placebo response was also considerable (31 percent), a reminder that some of the benefit of depression treatment -- whether medication, psychotherapy, or exercise -- is due to favorable expectations from patients and the attention that accompanies the treatment and being in a study.

How does it work?

It's hard not to feel good -- or at least better -- after exercising. On a psychological level, taking care of your body bolsters self-confidence and imparts a sense of self-control. It also promotes a positive body image, especially important if you're struggling with weight gain, a potential side effect of antidepressants.

Physiologically, exercise increases the flow of oxygen throughout the body, stimulates the nervous system, and affects levels of brain chemicals like serotonin, which, in turn, relieve tension, induce calm and make it easier to handle anxiety and stress. In addition, hormones called endorphins are released by the pituitary gland during exercise, creating a sense of well-being.

It sure can't hurt.