ABSTRACT
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, and one out of 8 or 10 women is diagnosed with breast cancer. This type of cancer is an extremely heterogenous disease, which is classified into multiple categories including LCIS [Lobular carcinoma in situ], DCIS [Ductal carcinoma in situ], and invasive carcinoma. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are two major high-risk genes associated with hereditary breast cancer. Mutations in CHEK2 gene also contribute to a substantial fraction of familial breast cancer. Susceptibility alleles in other genes are also rare causes of breast cancer. More than 1000 mutations have been identified in BRCA1 and BRCA2, and molecular assays for detecting mutations in these genes are now well established. Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 cause genomic instability, which leads to alterations in additional key genes including tumor suppressor genes and/or oncogenes
There is a promise of tailoring treatment programs for individual women in near future. The emergence of miRNAs as regulators of gene expression identifies them as a novel candidate for diagnostic and prognostic indicators and therapeutic targets. The ability of miRNAs to simultaneously regulates many target genes and makes them attractive candidates for regulating stem cell self-renewal and cell fate decisions. The involvement of miRNAs in the initiation and progression of human malignancy holds much potential for new developments in current diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the management of patients with breast cancer. The identification of novel miRNAs, the elucidation of their mRNA targets, and an understanding of their functional effects will improve our knowledge of the roles of these novel biomarkers in carcinogenesis, including breast cancer, and open avenues for potential therapeutic intervention
ABSTRACT
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low carbohydrate, adequate protein diet, developed in the 1920s for the management of intractable seizure disorders in children. To evaluate efficacy and tolerability of the classic ketogenic diet, we analyzed records of the children started on the diet from 1999 to 2006 at the Mofid children's hospital. The subjects were 87 children, mean age 55 months. Before initiation of the diet, 55% of the patients had seizures, at least 1-4 times per day, 36%-5 or more per day and 9%-2 to 4 times per week. Mean number of Anti Epileptic Drugs [AEDs] tried for them was 8 and 67% were receiving three or more drugs. The ketogenic diet showed drastic improvement, with at least 50% reduction in seizure frequency in 87% of our patients, 39% of whom showed complete seizure control in the third month. After one year, in 80% of the patients who returned, improvement continued, with 26% of them being seizure free; besides, 23% had one AED decreased, 36% had two or three AEDs decreased, and 25% [one child] had all AEDs discontinued. Of the 30 improved cases, 20%, at the end of the first year, had improved behavior as well, and 23% of them had become more alert. The medium diet duration of the improved group was 15 months. The improvement in our patients, low side effects, and the duration of diet by families reveal that the ketognic diet can still be a very useful alternative therapy in certain epileptic children