Positive Prospects for Prevention

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and what better way to promote awareness than by blogging about exciting new research on the topic!  Much progress has been made by the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP), led by Dr. Caroline H. Dilworth, which is supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute.  BCERP seeks to explore both environmental and genetic factors associated with breast cancer risk over the course of the female lifespan.  Regarding the aforementioned environmental factors, BCERP analyzes exposure to various elements during specific periods during the lifespan (known as “windows of susceptibility”) such as during puberty or pregnancy.  Certain factors may be highly correlated with breast cancer developing during one period of life whereas it may be relatively benign during another.  Determining these environmental factors and gaining more information about them will be key in breast cancer prevention.

Furthermore, BCERP has recently launched a new initiative along with the National Institute of Health (NIH).  This phase of the research focuses on risk factors (such as breast density), and it expands the scope of participants to include more racially and ethnically diverse groups of women.  Including socio-economically disadvantaged women and women from minority groups is crucial for gaining a broadened perspective.  The research will be conducted at seven different centers across the country, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Michigan State University, and Columbia University, just down the road from Revitalize Physical Therapy!

Many breakthroughs and much progress are yet to be made.  Fortunately, the path is being paved in the proper direction, and research is focusing on key areas which will hopefully lead to a significant amount of prevention.  Until then, it is of course important to perform monthly breast self-examinations (instructions here) and yearly mammograms starting at age forty.

Breast cancer survivors who have undergone surgeries that involve axillary lymph node removal may experience lymphedema, swelling of the upper extremity.  Manual lymphatic drainage, a component of complete decongestive therapy, is an appropriate intervention to reduce swelling.  If you or someone that you know stand to benefit from this treatment, please contact us at Revitalize Physical Therapy.  We look forward to the opportunity to help you!

The Latest in Lymphedema

Lymphatic system
Map of Lymphatic System: Old (left) and New (right)
The lymphatic system is a crucial component of the immune system.  The immune system helps protect the body from viruses, foreign particles, and foreign bodies (referred to as antigens).  Bone marrow produces lymphocytes, the active portion of lymph nodes which destroy foreign organisms thereby protecting the body. Interstitial fluid is filtered by lymph nodes prior to returning to the heart through lymph trunks.

Until recently, many believed that the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) lacked lymphatic structures (and, by extension, the added immunity and protective mechanism enjoyed by the peripheral nervous system due to its connection to the lymphatic system).  However, recent research performed at the University of Virginia School of Medicine has revealed that the brain is directly associated with the immune system via lymphatic vessels which have somehow slipped under the radar until recently.  Apparently, the scientists who originally mapped the lymphatic system were unable to detect the vessels located within the brain’s meninges.  This discovery was made by Antoine Louveau, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow whose recent dissection will call for the re-writing of scientific textbooks (link to article’s abstract).

The implications of this groundbreaking research are manifold.  The presence of lymphatic vessels and its protective benefits in the central nervous system open a Pandora’s Box of possibility regarding future advances in treatment of neurological diseases.  Conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and multiple sclerosis, to name a few, may be treatable through mechanisms never previously dreamed possible due to lack of knowledge about anatomy and physiology.  The future of neuroimmunology is an open book, and we are yet to see where the research will take us.

As a Certified Lymphedema Therapist, I am eager to see where Louveau’s exciting research will lead, and I look forward to learning new techniques in order to best treat my patients.  I also look forward to purchasing the latest edition of the Lymphedema mapping poster, because the one hanging on my wall is outdated!  If you or someone you know may benefit from manual lymphatic drainage to treat lymphedema, please contact me at Revitalize Physical Therapy.  I look forward to the opportunity to help.