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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the US. This cancer is on the rise among people who have never smoked, and more women than men are affected. It’s a distinct disease that demands its own screening strategy. That’s the warning from investigators at University College London, published in the journal Trends in Cancer.

Their concern stems from a meta-analysis of major global cancer datasets and prior screening trials. Heightened risk involve a combination of genetics, gender, family history, air pollution, radon or radiation exposure, and second hand smoke. This latter exposure increases lung cancer risk for these non-smokers by approximately 20 to 25 percent.

Diagnosing and treating lung cancer early enough to prevent mortality requires screening. In the case of heavy smokers, CT lung imaging yields a 20 percent reduction in mortality, but never-smokers typically do not qualify for this screening study under current guidelines.

The bottom line: never smokers, and that is now close to 90% of us, should undergo periodic lung imaging if there is an adverse genetic marker such as EGFR mutations, a strong family history, a history of air pollution exposure including exposure to second hand smoke, or documented radon exposure. Ask your medical team to see if you qualify and then get the imaging.

https://www.cell.com/trends/cancer/fulltext/S2405-8033(25)00315-2

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260215/Why-lung-cancer-in-never-smokers-is-rising-and-how-targeted-detection-could-reduce-deaths.aspx

#cancer #lung #smoking #pollution #screening

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Regenerative nanomedicine researchers now report the successful regrowth of spinal cord nerve fibers while minimizing the interference of scar tissue. This from Northwestern University and published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Investigators there engineered millimeter-scale human spinal cord organoids from stem cells and incorporated in them functional neurons. They added astrocytes and microglial immune cells in order to study repair and inflammatory processes. Using this model, the team studied two types of traumatic injury models: a laceration injury and a compression injury.

Batches of these damaged mini spinal cord organoids were treated with two types of therapeutic peptides; fast-moving supramolecules; and slower-moving versions containing the same biological signals. The slow movers drive neural regeneration while the fast movers stifle excess inflammation.

The results are striking: the treated mini-spinal cords show substantial neural regeneration with nerve extension regrowth and the notable absence of glial scar tissue. These peptide agents had shown remarkable benefits in prior animal studies. A single injection given 24 hours after severe injury enabled mice to walk again within four weeks. This lab-grown spinal cord model demonstrates the reason for this success.

Spinal cord injuries cause permanent paralysis because scar tissue blocks effective nerve regrowth. Using lab-grown mini-spinal cord tissue, this study shows that molecular therapy can reduce inflammation, shrink scar tissue, and trigger functional nerve growth. Once these techniques are refined and subjected to clinical trials, the possibility of restoring limb use after otherwise devastating spinal cord injuries could come…..someday soon.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260216044003.htm

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-025-01606-2

#spinalcord #paraplegia #quadraplegia #peptides #organoids

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Neuroscientists at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center report that the neural support cell, the astrocyte, plays a crucial role in spinal cord healing following injury. The publish their preclinical mouse study in the journal Nature.

The astrocyte senses a cord injury whether near or far and releases a protein signal known as CCN1. CCN1 then activates the nervous system’s vacuum cleaner, the microglial cell, which effectively digests post-injury fatty debris left when damaged nerve sheaths deteriorate. If this debris remains, it can inhibit proper healing and functional return.

These mouse experiments demonstrate that, when the CCN1 signal is active, debris is cleared more efficiently and healing improves. When CCN1 is removed, debris builds up, inflammation spreads, and recovery is worse.

These same repair signals and the processes they activate are also seen in human spinal cord tissue. This opens the door for a biochemical enhancement of spinal cord healing that will yield more normal function……someday soon.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260212234218.htm

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09887-y

#spinalcord #injury #astrocyte #ccn1