CLLSA visited Cardiff last week and interviewed Prof Pepper on camera at the Cardiff Cancer Research Genetics Building and we will be publishing the video interviews here tomorrow. Prof Pepper tells us more about himself, the Cardiff CLL research group and the key areas of CLL research the group is working on.
In tomorrow's video Prof Pepper outlines the group's work on prognostic testing in early CLL and the recent revaluations from their studies into Telomeres. Prof Pepper has very generously agreed to work with CLLSA and assist patients to better understand current CLL research happening throughout the world by hosting an interactive "ask the researcher" facility on the new CLLSA website being launched September/October. Prof Pepper and a panel of research experts will be on hand to answer on-line questions in language we can understand.
BBC Wales recently reported from Cardiff and created a short video about Cardiff CLL, that touches on how they are researching into how CLL cells are able to move through the body and escape the vascular and lymph systems and how restricting this behavior may be a pathway to preventing disease development. I was privileged to be given a demo last week of the artificial environment created to mimic the human system By creator Dr Beth Walsby (picture above) The model allows CLL cell to behave as they would in the human body and for study into preventing the cells migrating between systems.. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-270...
STELA work in Cardiff ! and hope the test can be made available in the not to distant future to all those that want it.
Got to get my head round "too short in a healthy cell, signals are sent to the cell to stop dividing and die" vs "so short in CLL cells that chromosomes are left exposed and are prone to fusing together during cell division, causing even larger DNA faults and even greater instability".
On the full paper there appears to be a patient access mechanism - looks a great idea. Would that principle extend to all medical papers in future ?
To get into the subject there appears to be lots of good stuff at (hope no significant errors in that):
The iPlayer version worked properly on my laptop running Windows 7, but was erratic on my Android tablet. Of course a decent broadband connection is a requirement.
These programs are only available for about 15 hours after broadcast it seems, before being replaced by the next days programs. Program length is ten minutes.
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This interesting research by professor Pepper does raise the question of if there is anything that we might be able to do to slow down the deterioration of these telomeres. Can we stop the shortening in some way.?
For this there has been research and I quote:-
‘In healthy women followed for over 1 year, accumulation of major life stressors predicted telomere attrition.
Women who maintained relatively higher levels of health behaviors appeared to be protected when exposed to stress.’
Healthy Behaviors May Help Stressed Cells Stay Young
Published: Aug 2, 2014 | Updated: Aug 4, 2014
Major life stressors appear to be associated with significant acceleration of cellular aging over a relatively short period of time, but engaging in healthy behaviors such as eating well, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep may mitigate that effect, a study showed.
Researchers examined the interaction between stressors like divorce or caring for an elderly parent and cellular aging, measured by telomere shortening, during a 1-year period in a cohort of middle-age women. The observational study is the first to examine short-term changes in telomere length in relation to stress, lead researcher Eli Puterman, PhD, of the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues wrote in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
Primary source: Molecular Psychiatry
Source reference: Puterman E, et al "Determinants of telomere attrition over one year in healthy older women" Mol Psy 2014; DOI: 10.1038/mp.2014.70.
Also in September 2013 some research was published by a Californian group and this was on the BBC website.
Again this showed the advantages of a healthy lifestyle.
‘The study looked at just 35 men with prostate cancer. Those who changed their lifestyle had demonstrably younger cells in genetic terms.
The researchers saw visible cellular changes in the group of 10 men who switched to a vegetarian diet and stuck to a recommended timetable of exercise and stress-busting meditation and yoga.
The changes related to protective caps at the end of our chromosomes, called telomeres.’
‘Effect of comprehensive lifestyle changes on telomerase activity and telomere length in men with biopsy-proven low-risk prostate cancer: 5-year follow-up of a descriptive pilot study’
Older research was just starting to look at this idea in January 2008.
‘ Leading a sedentary lifestyle may make us genetically old before our time, a study suggests.
A study of twins found those who were physically active during their leisure time appeared biologically younger than their sedentary peers.
The researchers found key pieces of DNA called telomeres shortened more quickly in inactive people. It is thought that could signify faster cellular ageing.
The King's College London study appears in Archives of Internal Medicine’
Further to my post yesterday and our visit to Cardiff University and Cardiff CLL research CLLSA are pleased to provide you with video of our discussion with Prof Pepper last Wednesday
An introduction to Professor Chris Pepper and the Cardiff CLL Research Group
In this first video Professor Chris Pepper of The Cardiff CLL Research Group, Institute of
Cancer & Genetics at Cardiff University tells us a little about himself and how he became
involved in CLL research, the work of the CLL research team and the Cancer Research
Genetics Building and provides us with an overview of the CLL research work of the
Cardiff CLL Group.
The team focus on three main areas of research:
1) Understanding the basic Cell biology of what makes CLL cells grow and resist drugs.
2) Determining prognostic markers to predict how CLL will develop
Significant breakthrough made into improving prognostic testing for patients diagnosed with CLL
In this second video Prof Pepper discusses advances into biological knowledge and therapeutics for CLL, and work being carried out globally including the Cardiff group’s work on CLL prognostic testing over the past ten years and their pivotal study and published paper; "Defining the prognosis of early stage chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients", two years ago.
Prof Pepper concludes with discussion about the group’s recent CLL prognostic testing breakthrough and study of telemeres. How telomere length can "offer even greater prognostic surety for CLL patients".
Their latest paper was published last Month; "Telomere dysfunction accurately predicts clinical outcome in CLL, even in patients with early stage disease"
As a CLL patient spending time with Prof Pepper left me with a feeling of great optimism as we move into the new world of improved testing and treatment of CLL
Cardiffs pivotal prognostic paper of two years ago: Defining the prognosis of early stage chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...
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