A. An Exciting New
Treatment For Kidney Cancer
Narrator: This is Science Today. A new immunotherapy
treatment developed at the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center
dramatically increased life expectancy for some
kidney cancer patients who would traditionally have
about eight months to live. Dr. Robert Figlin says
their approach stimulates a patient's immune system
by manipulating their dendritic cells.
Figlin: Dendritic cells are what are called
antigen presenting cells. They are cells that exist
within our body that basically interact with the
immune system to prevent us from developing disease.
Narrator: A patient's dendritic cells are
loaded up with lysate, a product of their own an
tumor. These cells are then given back to the patient.
Figlin: You can then vaccinate kidney cancer
patients with a tumor lysate loaded dendritic cell.
What's remarkable about this is it doesn't require
the use of interleukin-2, it's just using the patient's
own immune system.
Narrator: About half the treated patients
were alive after two years - some, cancer-free after
seven.
Figlin: I really think that kidney cancer
is a curable disease and it will ultimately be cured
with immunotherapy.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
B. Some Obstacles In Treating
Osteonecrosis
Narrator: This is Science Today. The exact
cause of bone death, or osteonecrosis, is still
relatively unknown. But Dr. Jay Lieberman, an assistant
professor of orthopedic surgery at UCLA, says of
the twenty thousand new cases of hip osteonecrosis
each year, certain risk factors - such as trauma,
the use of steroids or alcohol abuse - seem to be
associated.
Lieberman: There are other diseases that
are associated with it also - lupus, rheumatoid
arthritis, Crohn's Disease. Some people think there's
a high risk if you have diabetes melitis.
Narrator: Lieberman says not knowing the
exact cause and natural history of the disease is
one of the major problems in treating osteonecrosis.
Lieberman: And what I mean by natural history
is, we don't know how many people are walking around
with osteonecrosis of the hip who never become symptomatic.
Even when we talk about patients who take steroids
or patients who have problems with alcohol abuse
or these other diseases - the vast majority of these
patients never develop osteonecrosis. So in general,
we most often pick it up because a patient starts
complaining of hip pain.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
C. Scientific Serendipity
Narrator: This is Science Today. By sheer
coincidence, a molecule from tuberculosis was found
to have properties useful for treating heart attacks.
Dr. Marcus Horwitz, a professor of medicine and
infectious diseases at UCLA, says this realization
took place at a family gathering.
Horwitz: We had discovered a molecule which
had certain unique properties and my brother being
a cardiologist needed a molecule with that property
for heart attack and it was pretty much serendipity
that we happened to get together and discuss it
because it wouldn't be immediately obvious that
this molecule would have the utility in heart attack.
Narrator: This tuberculosis molecule prevents
reperfusion injury, which damages the heart and
often leads to congestive heart failure. It works
by seeking out iron - an essential part of a toxic
chemical reaction which causes reperfusion injury.
Horwitz: Today one of the leading diagnoses
of people entering the hospital is congestive heart
failure and the major cause of congestive heart
failure is heart attack. 048 The idea of this drug
would be to prevent that from happening.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
D. Natural Attenuation And The
Environment
Narrator: This is Science Today. Natural
attenuation is a cost effective technology many
environmental researchers are turning towards in
their efforts to get rid of hazardous waste. William
T. Frankenberger, Jr., a professor of soil microbiology
and biochemistry at the University of California,
Riverside admits natural attenuation is a slower
process.
Frankenberger: As long as it's not a threat
to the environment, that's OK. As long as it doesn't
get into the groundwater and contaminate a drinking
water source, that's OK - but let nature clean it
up.
Narrator: Frankenberger, Jr. is doing just
that. His lab developed a patented technique using
carbon-packed agents, such as orange peel, to stimulate
microorganisms to take up selenium and convert it
into a non-toxic gas, which would be dispersed into
the air.
Frankenberger: We're not adding organisms,
those organisms are there. They've been there for
many, many years. So what we're doing is, we're
just trying to stimulate their environment for growth
so that they can remove the selenium.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
E. Breaking The Cycle Of Depression
Narrator: This is Science Today. One of
the hardest aspects about getting over a depression,
is breaking the cycle of negative rumination. Psychologist
Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California,
Riverside says rather than dwell on a depressed
mood, try distraction.
Lyubomirsky: At least temporarily, so that
you can address some of the problems, because often
there are problems in your life associated with
a depression. Rumination, really it feeds a vicious
cycle between depressed mood and rumination. You
think about it, you start thinking about the implications,
it gets you more depressed, then your mood is even
more bias and it spirals out of control and then
a full-scale depression results.
Narrator: In her studies on depression,
Lyubomirsky says keeping a strong social support
network is also very important when it comes to
therapy.
Lyubomirsky: Just having some close friends
and family members works a great deal. So try to
spend time with other people, try to distract yourself
when you find yourself dwelling on the negative.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
