Effects of Maackia amurensis seed lectin (MASL) on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) gene expression and transcriptional signaling pathways.

Purpose: Oral cancer causes over 120,000 deaths annually and affects the quality of life for survivors. Over 90% of oral cancers are derived from oral squamous cell carcinoma cells (OSCCs) which are generally resistant to standard cytotoxic chemotherapy agents. OSCC cells often exhibit increased TGFβ and PDPN receptor activity compared to nontransformed oral epithelial cells.

Osteopathic Cranial Manipulative Medicine and the Blood-Brain Barrier: A Mechanistic Approach to Alzheimer Prevention.

Recent studies have demonstrated that blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction may be implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease, thus establishing a link between disease manifestation and compromised neurovasculature. The authors identify relationships between Alzheimer disease and BBB breakdown, the response of the BBB to increased cerebral blood flow and shear stress, and the impact of osteopathic cranial manipulative medicine on cerebrovascular hemodynamics. They propose and review a rationale for future research to evaluate osteopathic cranial manipulative medicine as a preventive treatment for patients with illnesses of neurovascular origin.