Archive for category Research

Are carbon nanotubes the next asbestos?

Posted by Katy in Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma, Research on August 19, 2010

Carbon nanotubes, one of the more promising materials for the future of technology, might cause the same deadly diseases as asbestos when inhaled.

Impossibly small (1/50,000th of the width of a human hair) and considered to be the strongest and stiffest materials ever discovered, carbon nanotubes are similar in appearance and behavior to asbestos fibers when inhaled. According to a study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology in 2008, inhaled carbon nanotubes caused troubling inflammation in animal studies, the same inflammation that can eventually lead to mesothelioma cancer and other serious health issues.

Like asbestos was for many decades, carbon nanotubes are unregulated and quickly finding their way into a growing number of products and applications. Also like asbestos, carbon nanotubes add amazing strength and durability to any material that they are added to, making them a tantalizing addition for high tech items such as touch screens. Carbon nanotubes are used today for a wide variety of applications, such as reinforcing high tech plastic components in solar cells and touch screens. They can also be found in airplanes, bicycles, and sporting goods such as tennis rackets and baseball bats. Carbon nanotubes have been proposed for everything from elevator cables that could life payloads into Earth’s orbit to tiny computers smaller than living cells.

Although it’s far too early to know if exposure to carbon nanotubes can cause mesothelioma or other health issues, they should be approached with extreme caution, especially by workers involved in the processing or manufacturing of the nanotube material. If the pattern of scarring from carbon nanotubes is similar to asbestos, symptoms of disease might not show for decades.

Another major concern is what happens once the products containing carbon nanotubes are broken, burned, or otherwise disposed of. No one knows if the nanotubes would be released into the environment and what effect that could have.

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Former Libby High students sought for health study

Posted by Marc in Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma, Research on June 25, 2010

As the largest Superfund site in the history of the U.S., the town of Libby, Mont. has been forever turned upside down by the vermiculite mine six miles outside of town that kicked up asbestos dust for decades and is directly responsible for killing more than 400 residents.

The Environmental Protection Agency have been a mainstay in Libby for nearly a decade, spending much of the time discovering that the asbestos problem is much worse than originally thought.

But the EPA aren’t the only ones interested in what’s going on in Libby. The Center for Asbestos Related Disease is undertaking a $4.8 million study of former residents who attended Libby High School between 1950 and 1999.

The purpose of the study is to track the health of these roughly 13,000 students and determine the extent of contamination – specifically why Libby residents have been diagnosed with Asbestos-related diseases on a much faster timeline than many others who have been exposed in other ways and places.

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Developer of mesothelioma treatment honored by Princeton

Posted by Marc in Clinical Trials, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Treatment, Research on June 22, 2010

Those fighting malignant pleural mesothelioma have had a new drug at their disposal since it was approved by the FDA in 2004, and it has worked wonders for many – stopping the growth and spread of the cancer, in addition to extending life and relieving patient suffering.

The developer of that drug — Alimta — was honored with a doctoral degree at Princeton’s 263rd commencement exercises earlier this month.

Prof. Edward C. Taylor has been a mainstay at Princeton since 1954, when he first joined the faculty. In 1966, he was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry – a position he held until 1997, when he was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry Emeritus and Senior Research Assistant.

With over 450 published scientific papers and the holder of more than 50 patents in the chemistry field, Taylor is one of Princeton’s most tenured and respected researchers.

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Developments in new therapies against Mesothelioma

Posted by Marc in Clinical Trials, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Treatment, Research on June 2, 2010

A new study indicates promising results in therapies to combat mesothelioma and other cancers.

The results of a joint study (“Pro-tumorigenic Effects of miR-31 Loss in Mesothelioma,”) between Rosetta Genomics and NYUs Langone Medical Center shows the potential of miR-31 – a micro RNA recently discovered to be a suppressor of breast cancer metastases – to inhibit proliferation, migration, invasion and clonogenicity of mesothelioma cells.

“Over the past several years, microRNAs have been hailed as one of the most significant scientific and medical discoveries. They have been described as the body’s ‘master switches’, holding significant potential for therapeutic applications,” said Kenneth A. Berlin, President and CEO of Rosetta Genomics.

Berlin also noted how the study is yet another demonstration of microRNAs potential role in cancer therapeutics and how significant an impact a single microRNA can have on the course of a disease.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recently discovered, small RNAs that play the “master regulator” of protein synthesis, and are highly effective biomarkers. Early data has shown that cancer cell growth may be reduced by controlling levels of specific microRNAs.

Founded in 2000, Rosetta Genomics is a company on the forefront of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics and was the winner of the Wall Street Journal’s Technology Innovation Awards in the medical/biotech category.

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UK Government Pledges Support for Victims of Asbestos Exposure

Posted by Marcus in Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos Legal Help, Mesothelioma, Research, Support on March 17, 2010

The Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom has unveiled a series of measures aimed at supporting victims of asbestos exposure.  They were announced after a government conference on how to respond to a 2007 ruling by the Law Lords which ended the right to compensation.

The proposals are a result of years of campaigning by advocates, who have fought for better treatment, support and compensation for victims and their families even after the 2007 legal setback.

Included in the measures are:

  • The creation of an Employers’ Liability Tracing Office, which helps victims track down a company’s insurer (at the time of exposure).  Since many manufacturers of asbestos products are no longer in business, finding their insurers from a given period has been extremely difficult.
  • The creation of an Employers’ Liability Bureau which will act as a fund of last resort in the event the insurer cannot be found.  Victims will receive compensation from this fund, if necessary.
  • A series of payments of £5,000 for people who had begun, but not yet resolved a legal claim for compensation at the time of the 2007 ruling.
  • A pledge to increase funding for mesothelioma research.

A local coroner, William Armstrong, supports the plans.  He told the Norwich Evening News,  “I deal with a substantial number of inquests into people who have died from asbestos-related diseases and the numbers seem to be growing.

“There are unfortunately people who have been exposed to asbestos many years before the condition manifests itself and many of them die in very distressing circumstances.

“Anything that can be done to help their relatives and loved ones claim the compensation to which they are entitled is very much to be welcomed.”

Ministers have also vowed to set up a working group consisting of mesothelioma lawyers, unions, insurers, the judiciary and civil servants to review asbestos law practices and procedures for obtaining compensation.  They also hope to streamline the process in order to reduce the time it takes for cases to conclude.

Click here for the full article.

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