gisellekagheni

[gisellekagheni]

A Community Engaged in Research.  Giselle Kagheni Regen 4540 Uwindsor

Purpose:  Hello tumblrs, the purpose of this blog is to inform and educate on the importance of research and how impactful it is for the community. Research is the main reason why we have pain killers like Advil and Tylenol that you can easily get at your local pharmacy. It is also because of research that now we can treat certain illness that could not be treated in the past. One major milestone in regenerative medicine that doctors and researcher have overcome is transplantation. Because of research, people can donate blood, organs and even stem cells, which allow patients to have another chance at life. As research continues to happen in the Windsor-Essex communities, more support is needed from the community itself. Research is expensive and requires a lot of special machines and equipment that allows researchers to conduct the research. It also goes through rigorous testing procedures that helps researchers collect information about how safe medicines or medical procedures are for the community. Thus, it is important that the community gets involved and provides support by, sharing the research on social media platforms, donating blood, organs or stem cells, or even providing financial support.

Regenerative medicine! What is it?

Is it a field in science that seeks to apply the understanding of regenerative biology to restore tissue structure and function in damaged, non-regenerating tissues?

An example of regeneration

Most of us, if not all of us, have played with worms during childhood. Well, these little guys have the capacity to regenerate after injury. Meaning, if you cut them, they don’t die, but their body makes new cells and the injured worm becomes a full worm again.

Gastrointestinal (digestive system) tumours and cancer stem cells

You might be convinced about why research is important, but not why you should get involved. Luckily, I will be talking to you about something that is very important for all of us. And that is, the digestive system. You might have learned about it in grade school or high school, but we all know that the digestive system is very important.  

The digestive tract is lined with special tissue called the mucosa, or mucous membrane. The mucosa itself  consists of epithelium, lamina propria and muscular mucosae. This is very important for the digestive tract and is what allows to body to absorb all the nutrients we need, from the food that we eat.

Sometimes the digestive tract gets bruised and needs to be repaired or the lining tissue needs to be replaced. The stem cells (which are cells that can make the tissue in the digestive tract) are the ones responsible for rejuvenating the lining so that digestion can happen smoothly. However, sometimes issues arise from stem cells. When stem cells are not being well regulated or controlled, it can lead to intestinal tumours. This has a higher chance of happening if you as an individual are more genetically prone to developing tumours in the digestive tract.

Nevertheless, there is hope in regenerative medicine and research. In the following segment, I will be talking about stomach cancer and how regenerative medicine treats the disease.

Stomach Cancer  

Interesting fact: Did you know that your stomach lining is replaced every 4 days and your stomach cells that meet digesting foods are replaced every 5 minutes. 

Stomach cancer is when cells grow in the stomach abnormally and out of control. The stomach is basically a sac made from smooth muscle and it holds the delicious food that we eat. Stomach cancer is very common and is one of the top causes of cancer deaths. Some of the symptoms for stomach cancer include but not limited to, heartburn, having difficulty swallowing, nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, etc. The stomach is very important for your digestive system and finding ways to prevent and treat stomach cancer using regeneration is crucial.

Immunotherapy is one way to treat stomach cancer. It is a treatment method that helps the immune system fight cancer cells. Cancer cells produce proteins that make it hard for the immune system to recognize cancer cells as dangerous, but the immunotherapy help prevent that.

Highlighting local researchers

Introducing DR Sindu Kanjeekal. M.D.

DR Sindu Kanjeekal is a practicing doctor and a researcher working at the Windsor Regional Hospital.

What is her research focus?

Her research aligns with her clinical practice including hematological, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary cancers. She is a member of the Myeloma Canada Research Program and couple of their projects include testing novel compounds on myeloma and establishing a national database to support Canadian research. In the GI cancer field, she works on immunotherapy drugs for colorectal cancer which would potentially change the way the disease is treated.

Where does she get inspiration?

Dr Sindu enjoys running without music and lets her mind wander. She finds it relaxing and this helps her find solutions for problems she struggles with during the day.

What motivates her to do research?

She is motivated by her desire to ease the burden that cancer places on her patients and her family.

Why it matters?

Now you might be wondering why any of this matter right? Well… what makes it possible that you are now able to go to a local pharmacy and buy painkillers like Advil and Tylenol for your headache? Or how were we able to create vaccines that help us fight against deadly diseases like polio, tetanus, and influenza? RESEARCH! Research is the main reason why scientists are able make these insane, yet possible breakthroughs. In fact, studies have shown that hospitals that are involved in regenerative research have better outcomes with their patients. Here in Windsor, we have our own institute called We-Spark that partnered with the Windsor Regional Hospital, St-Clair, the University of Windsor, and Hotel-Dieu Grace. We-Spark focuses on research that is focused on “improving outcomes for the people in our region”.  

How can I get involved?

You might be thinking, “well, I am not a scientist”, or “I am not interested in science, so how can I get involved in research?”. Well, I have great news for you! You do not need to be a scientist, or even know much about science to support the local research of Windsor-Essex. One way you can help is donating blood, organs and even stem cells. You might already be aware of blood donations or probably know of someone who is a blood donor. Hospitals run short on blood donations and always need more blood for certain patients. Also, some illnesses like liver cancer that has progressed, require transplantation. They need a liver cells of a healthy individual , to rejuvenate the damaged liver of the patients. In addition, stem cells are very important for research and for treating illnesses. Stem cell therapy is a method that has been studied by many scientists, and it involves taking stem cells from a donor and giving them to a patient needing them. These stem cells then get adopted in the patient’s body, at the location of the illness and help in rejuvenating the damaged tissues.

For more information:

You can visit following institutions that are involved in local research and click on the links below for more information.

Fu, D.-J., Wang, L., Chouairi, F. K., Rose, I. M., Abetov, D. A., Miller, A. D., … Nikitin, A. Y. (2020). Gastric squamous-columnar junction contains a large pool of cancer-prone immature osteopontin responsive Lgr5−CD44+ cells. Nature Communications, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13847-2

-Stomach cancer (2020) Mayo Clinic. [online] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/stomach-cancer/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20352443 (Accessed February 23, 2021)

-Zhuntova, G. V., Azizova, T. V., and Grigoryeva, E. S. Risk of stomach cancer incidence in a cohort of Mayak PA workers occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation. PLOS ONE. [online] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0231531 (Accessed February 23, 2021)

-Taniguchi H;Moriya C;Igarashi H;Saitoh A;Yamamoto H;Adachi Y;Imai K; Cancer stem cells in human gastrointestinal cancer. Cancer science. [online] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27575869/ (Accessed February 23, 2021)

- Brabletz, S., Schmalhofer, O., and Brabletz, T. (2008) Gastrointestinal stem cells in development and cancer. Wiley Online Library. [online] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/path.2475 (Accessed April 1, 2021)