JUPITER, Fla. – A study involving scientists from the University of Florida is shedding light on ways to possibly defeat a deadly form of brain cancer.
The scientists have discovered that in cases of glioblastoma, two specific cancer cell mutations may work together to help hide the tumors from the immune system.
“What we’ve done in this study is we were looking for different genes that can be altered in the glioblastoma cells, and what we found is that if the tumors have a larger components of cells that have alterations in two particular genes then that basically results in the influx of macrophages, which are specific types of immune cells, and these cells may dampen the immune response against the tumor,” said Dr. Michalina Janiszewska, with the Herbert Wertheim U.F. Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology.
The findings may help predict whether the tumors would respond to an emerging class of immunotherapy drugs.
Researchers at the Herbert Wertheim U.F. Scripps Institute in Jupiter collaborated with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston for the study.
Also in today’s health news, if you’ve ever found yourself getting a migraine from staring at a screen too long, you’re not alone.
Part of the reason why is many migraine sufferers have “photosensitivity” to light, so the combination of staring at a bright screen plus the overhead lights in a room can become a trigger.
Dr. Emad Estemalik with the Cleveland Clinic said some simple steps can help ease the pain.
“I think, really, if we can moderate the amount as well and really minimize screen time, phone time, especially in the 1 to 2 hours before someone goes to sleep, I think that will make a tremendous difference,” Estemalik said.
It’s also important to get your eyesight checked to make sure you are wearing the right lenses, and don’t have any other eye issues that could be contributing to migraines.