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Nebraska Legislature Advances Ultrasound Viewing Bill
The Nebraska Legislature on Wednesday voted to advance a bill (L.B. 675) that would require abortion providers who perform ultrasounds on women seeking the procedure to tell women that a view of the fetus will be available and display the screen in a way that the image can be easily seen, the AP/Lincoln Journal Star reports. The bill also would require the state to compile a list of clinics that offer no-cost ultrasound services. State Sen. Brenda Council (D) criticized that particular provision, saying it would force the state Department of Health and Human Services to spend more taxpayer money.Lawmakers advanced the bill by voice vote after approving an amendment to clarify language surrounding the qualifications of health professionals performing ultrasounds. Advocates for the bill claim it would provide more information to women seeking abortion procedures, while opponents of the bill argue that it would allow the government to interfere in a private procedure. The bill faces a final vote before going to Gov. Dave Heineman (R). If the bill becomes law, Nebraska would join more than a dozen states that have similar laws, the AP/Journal Star reports (Ortiz, AP/Lincoln Journal Star, 5/27).
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Genistein Targets MEK4 In Human Prostate Cancer Cells
Researchers have identified MEK4 as a pro-invasion protein and the target for genistein, a dietary compound, in prostate cancer cells, according to a new study published online July 28 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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HIV Testing Can Save Thousands Of Lives, CDC Official Says
"Although HIV/AIDS continues to pose a serious threat to the nation"s health, HIV testing is a powerful weapon against the disease," Kevin Fenton, director of CDC"s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, writes in a CNN.com opinion piece. Fenton writes that every 9 1/2 minutes someone in the U.S. becomes infected with HIV. "That"s 56,000 people every year," Fenton writes, adding, "But there"s something we can all do to help protect ourselves and our partners from this disease - get tested for HIV." He continues, "By increasing the number of people who know their HIV status, we can decrease the number of new HIV infections, and help save thousands of lives" (Fenton, CNN.com, 6/26).
Public Health

Clues To How Adrenal Cancer Forms

At the ends of chromosome are special pieces of DNA called telomeres. Think of it as the little tip that caps off a shoelace. The telomeres send signals to the cells to let them know it"s the end point, not a break that should be repaired. Over time, as cells reproduce, the telomeres become shorter and eventually no longer do their job. The cells then have a higher risk of mutating into cancer. But, a new study finds, if the telomere becomes dysfunctional at any point - regardless of shortening - it can trigger a cancer event. The study, by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, was done in mice generally prone to develop cancer. The mice that also had dysfunctional telomeres were particularly prone to develop the usually ultra-rare adrenocortical cancer. This is the first mouse model to specifically address this rare but lethal type of cancer. "Usually when telomeres get short, they also seem to get deprotected. No one"s been able to say if it"s the shortening or the deprotection that causes cancer to arise. In this study, we were able to show that deprotection alone, even in the absence of a short telomere, is enough to trigger cancer. This may be a general mechanism of adrenal cancer as well as many other cancers in the body," says study author Gary Hammer, M.D., Ph.D., the Millie Schembechler Professor of Adrenal Cancer at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. Results of the study appear in the June issue of Cancer Cell. The researchers also found that a protein called p53 usually prevents the cancer trigger. P53 is critical to the cell destruction process. When it"s missing, cells replicate uncontrolled, the hallmark of cancer. In this study, the researchers eliminated p53 in the mice and found that the dysfunctional telomeres then tried to repair themselves. This led to breaks in the chromosome, causing scrambled genes and mutations. "P53 mutation together with telomere dysfunction may be the basis for the genomic changes we see in adrenal cortical cancer and other malignancies," says study author Tobias Else, M.D., a post-doctoral fellow and Garry Betty Scholar in Adrenal Cortical Cancer Research at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. Adrenal cancer is extremely rare -- about 600 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States. It is typically diagnosed in late stages when there is nearly no chance of survival beyond five years. Researchers hope that a better understanding of how the disease develops will help lead to new treatments for a cancer type that gets little to no attention and limited research funding. "This work proves a basic science principle and gives us understanding of how these genetic changes occur to give us this cancer. But it is not just limited to adrenal cancer. Our research started with the adrenal gland, but we saw tumors form in multiple parts of the body. This will be of broader interest to the scientific community," Else says. Additional authors: Alessia Trovato, Alex C. Kim, Yipin Wu, David O. Ferguson, Rork D. Kuick, Peter C. Lucas all from the U-M Health System Funding: Garry Betty Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Research Foundation Reference: Cancer Cell, Vol. 15, Issue 6, pp. 465-476 Nicole Fawcett University of Michigan Health System


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