Infertility linked to heart disease

THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Fathers of women with PCOS are more than twice as likely to have heart disease, and more than four times as likely to have a stroke. Image: onurdongel/iStockphoto A new study from the University of Adelaide shows the parents of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to have some form of cardiovascular disease. PCOS is a hormonal disorder affecting about 10 per cent of women of reproductive age. It is one of the most common endocrine disorders in women and a leading cause of infertility. The study shows mothers of women with PCOS are more likely to have any form of cardiovascular disease, and almost twice as likely to have high blood pressure, than mothers of other women. Fathers of women with PCOS are more than twice as likely to have heart disease, and more than four times as likely to have a stroke, than fathers of other women. The study involved taking family medical histories from more than 700 women born at Adelaide's Queen Elizabeth Hospital between 1973-1975. The results of the study will be published today in the online journal PLosONE. "Our results show there is a strong link between cardiovascular disease in both mother and father and the risk of polycystic ovary syndrome in their daughters," says the lead author of the study, Associate Professor Michael Davies from the University of Adelaide's Robinson Institute. "It suggests that PCOS may be the consequence of a family susceptibility to chronic disease. Further research into the association between the child and parent is therefore needed," he says. "In Australia alone, about 500,000 women are affected by PCOS. While it is a leading cause of infertility, PCOS also carries with it a wide range of other, serious health complications. "By further understanding the link between PCOS and other family medical conditions, we might be able to diagnose and treat all of these illnesses at an earlier stage." Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

X-ray detector strips ores bare

CSIRO

A new state of the art x-ray imaging detector smaller than a postage stamp is the key to a powerful new method of characterising mineral ores, according to an article published today in the October issue of CSIRO’s Process magazine. X-ray vision to characterise mineral ores The x-ray, photon-counting imaging device called Medipix can take high-resolution images of minerals, detailing the materials present in an ore sample. Unlike conventional x-ray films and cameras, the new technique measures the energy of individual incoming x-rays and adds colour to traditional black-and-white snapshots. Research scientist Dr Josef Uher said the new technique could revolutionise micro-imaging, and the mining industry. “In every single pixel of the detector, you gain information about what the x-ray spectrum looks like. If you analyse it properly, you can determine whether the materials in the sample were nickel, copper, zinc, gold or something else,” Dr Uher said. Medipix could provide near real-time imaging of ores for plant monitoring and control in the mining industry. It was designed in collaboration with several universities and laboratories led by the European Organisation of Nuclear Research (CERN). Other stories in this issue of Process include: Analysis in extreme environments: Molten salt electrowinning, a key technology used in extractive metallurgy has been analysed using a new x-ray diffraction technique. The new method can be used to monitor changes inside an operating electrowinning cell and can determine electrode performance and extraction efficiency. Clearing the mist around electrowinning: Examining bubble and acid mist formation during the electrowinning process used for base metal production could provide solutions to manage and reduce the carcinogenic mist. Acid mist poses health risks for workers and current technologies to prevent exposure are expensive. Ore analysis at light speed: Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) could provide significant economic savings to the mining industry by accelerating the in situ analysis of ore quality at mine sites. These and other stories can be found in the October issue of Process magazine, which was released today. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

‘Ecstasy’ to kill blood cancers

LAURA GLITSOS, SCIENCENETWORK WA

While MDMA was never marketed as a therapeutic drug, it was discovered as a ‘party drug’ in the late 70s and early 80s mainly due to its ability to induce euphoria. Image: art-4-art/iStockphoto A team of UWA researchers have found they may be able to alter the club drug ‘ecstasy’ to kill certain types of blood cancers at the same time boosting the potency and reducing the psychoactivity. School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences Associate Professor Matthew Piggott says when the UWA team was researching the use of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in Parkinson’s disease drug discovery, they came across a paper suggesting it may also be useful in treating blood cancer. So the UWA scientists collaborated with University of Birmingham Professor John Gordon and his team to increase the toxicity of the drug toward blood cancer cell lines, while decreasing its psychoactive effects. While MDMA was never marketed as a therapeutic drug, it was discovered as a ‘party drug’ in the late  70s and early 80s mainly due to its ability to induce euphoria. Now, A/Prof Piggott says MDMA’s structure can be “tinkered with” with to create MDMA analogues (compounds structurally similar to MDMA) that could have improved therapeutic properties. “Professor Gordon found MDMA to be weakly toxic to certain types of blood cancer cell lines, so he presented the idea of ‘redesigning the designer drug’,” he says. “We contacted him and he was very keen to test our analogues—initially created for Parkinson’s disease treatment research—on his cell lines. “That’s how it started.” In order to make the analogues suitable for treatment, the team must focus on removing the psychoactive effect while boosting the toxicity to cancer cells. To do this, the researchers change some ‘substituents’, particularly the alpha-substituent, in the analogues, much like removing or adding building blocks. The altered structure modifies the biological properties. “We had some limited anecdotal evidence...because of the work of maverick chemist Alexander Shulgin, who would make different compounds and test them out on himself and his friends,” A/Prof Piggott says. In terms of increasing its potency against blood cancer cells lines, A/Prof Piggott says it involves “logical trial and error”. “Initially six compounds were screened but most were not very active. However, there was one that was ten times more potent, and this became the basis for the next batch of analogues,” he says. “We are currently at the process of making analogues of the best ‘lead’ compound we have discovered so far—which is 100-fold more potent.” A/Prof Piggott says the compounds are being evaluated using in vitro cell lines, but the next step would be testing them in an animal model of blood cancer. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.