Researchers have discovered a compound that attacks certain cancer cells by depriving them of their energy source, glucose.

Because the compound can selectively target cancer cells, while leaving normal cells alone, researchers hope it may someday be an option other than chemotherapy for cancer patients.

Chemotherapy can be rough for patients because most of the drugs are unable to distinguish between which cells are cancerous and which are not. Instead, the chemicals simply target all rapidly dividing cells, which include healthy blood cells and cells that make hair.

However, drugs that can target a phenomenon exclusive to cancer cells – such as using glucose for energy – could fight the disease with considerably less side effects.

“This study demonstrates an approach for selectively inhibiting the ability of cancer cells to take up glucose, which is a pretty powerful way of killing those cells,” said senior study author Amato Giaccia, PhD, Stanford University professor and director of radiation oncology.

For the study, the researchers focused on a common kidney cancer in adults, called renal cell carcinomas, for the study. The cancer is resistant to chemotherapy, and patients typically must have the kidney removed.

Using mice, researchers tested the effects two candidate drugs, STF-62247 and STF-31, on renal cell carcinomas. Both succeeded in starving the cancer cells of glucose and slowing tumor growth.

Additionally, there was no apparent damage to normal tissues, immune systems or blood cells of the mice.

The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

It used to be called impotence. But thanks to the proliferation of drug industry advertisements that now threaten to overwhelm our television programs, today we know it as erectile dysfunction, or, more discreetly, simply as E.D. Whatever you want to call it, though, it’s the man’s inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient to satisfy him or his partner during intercourse.

When it occurs in young men, it’s usually just a matter of momentary anxiety. In middle-aged men, it’s often caused by stress, guilt, or overwork. In fact, most men experience it at some point in their lives by age forty, though usually only briefly, and they are not psychologically affected by it.

But it gets more common with age, and for some men – as many as 30 million of them according to the drug companies – it occurs frequently and causes serious emotional and relationship problems.

In many cases, E.D. is due to the deterioration of the blood vessels that carry blood into the penis. A host of things can cause this deterioration, including nicotine, which narrows the blood vessels, excessive alcohol, and certain prescription drugs, notably antidepressants. Some physical problems can contribute to the deterioration, too, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.

If you have difficulty getting an erection, get help. Discuss it with your partner, and consult your doctor, who will help you find the cause of your E.D. Treatment will, of course, depend on the cause. Though there are a number of mechanical devices that can help men get a better erection, including splints, rings, and pumps, it’s the E.D. drugs that have revolutionized the treatment of this problem. They work well for most men, and if one drug doesn’t work for you, try one of the others – but always work with a doctor’s guidance since the drugs can have significant side effects.

From multiple times a day to just a few times a week: Results from a preliminary study indicate that a new insulin drug only requires people with diabetes to inject themselves three times a week and has no major side effects, HealthDay News reported.

This means that people who suffer from type 2 diabetes may be able to escape the regimens that can require them to inject themselves with insulin up to four times a day.  People with type 2 diabetes inject themselves with insulin to control their blood sugar, but it does come with side effects, such as weight gain or attacks of high or low blood sugar.

“The presumption here is if you use a medication less frequently, then people are more likely to take it and remember it, especially as we multitask and try to do so many things every day,” said Dr. Yogish C. Kudva, a diabetes specialist and consultant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Over 200 adults with diabetes, who had not yet started taking insulin, were randomly assigned to take an existing form of insulin daily or to take the new drug, degludec, either in a daily dose or three-times-a-week doses.

After 16 weeks, researchers found that people taking the degludec three times a week were faring just as well as the other two groups.

Another phase of research is needed to confirm the results and researchers believe the drug will likely be more costly than insulin if it is released on the market.

The study was published in The Lancet.

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