10 things to know about neuroendocrine tumors

Nurse's Life Changed Forever After Lip Filler Swelling Led To Horror Diagnosis

Edita Jucaite was told to seek GP advice after receiving a routine lip filler procedure and was told to seek hospital attention not long after having her blood taken

Edita Jucaite's lip swelled up after a lip filler injection (

Image: Leukaemia UK / SWNS)

A nurse's life changed forever after she experienced a common side effect of a popular cosmetic procedure.

Edita Jucaite, 36, had tried different procedures before without experiencing negative reactions afterwards, but a lip filler injection she received in April last year caused uncomfortable swelling. The injection, which the nurse received from a doctor colleague, immediately made her lip swell and caused severe bruising.

After administering the injection, Edita - who had also been losing weight - said the doctor advised her to see a GP, who ordered a blood test. She received an urgent call from the surgery not long after having her blood taken informing her that she needed to go straight to the hospital.

Edita said she may never have visited her GP if not for the swelling (

Image:

Leukaemia UK / SWNS)

The GP suspected she may have leukaemia, and further tests confirmed that Edita had chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), a cancer of the bone marrow and white blood cells. She was quickly given oral chemotherapy and is in remission, but will need medication for the rest of her life to prevent this disease from returning.

Edita, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, credited the lip filler for the life-saving discovery, saying she may never have visited her GP if the bruising had not led her colleague to push her towards seeking a doctor's advice. She said: "Not many people can say that lip fillers saved their life - but I can!

"If the bruising hadn't happened and I hadn't been encouraged to see the GP because of it then I may well have put it off again and again which could have then meant the leukaemia may have progressed and been much harder to treat. I had no idea about the signs and symptoms of leukaemia - I was happy to be losing a bit of weight as I was about to go on holiday and I drank a lot of energy drinks which may have disguised my tiredness.

Edita is now in remission, but must take medication for life (

Image:

Leukaemia UK / SWNS)

"There definitely needs to be more general awareness of leukaemia and what to look out for so more people can be diagnosed in time for treatment to be effective, like I was." Leukaemia Care and Leukaemia UK have released new findings from a YouGov poll of 2,000 UK adults which found that less than a sixth (14 percent) of the UK adult population are able to identify all the four main symptoms of this blood cancer - these are unusual bruising, unusual bleeding, fatigue, and repeated infections.

The organisations say this is contributing to more than a third of those diagnosed finding out the life-changing news at A&E. Throughout the UK, there are around 10,000 people diagnosed with leukaemia every year - and almost 5,000 deaths. Annually, 37 percent of those diagnosed with leukaemia receive this news in A&E - more than any other cancer type1.

In addition, people diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) are disproportionately affected as over half of them are diagnosed in emergency settings. This type of leukaemia is particularly aggressive and develops quickly, so early diagnosis and treatment are even more essential.

Every day, 27 people in the UK are diagnosed with leukaemia, and currently, over 50,000 are living with the disease. Despite common misconceptions, leukaemia is not just a childhood disease as it predominantly affects those over 65.

Oral Vaccines Could Provide Relief For People Who Suffer Regular UTIs. Here's How They Work

In a recent TikTok video, Australian media personality Abbie Chatfield shared she was starting a vaccine to protect against urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Huge news for the UTI girlies. I am starting a UTI vaccine tonight for the first time.

Chatfield suffers from recurrent UTIs and has turned to the Uromune vaccine, an emerging option for those seeking relief beyond antibiotics.

But Uromune is not a traditional vaccine injected to your arm. So what is it and how does it work?

First, what are UTIs?

UTIs are caused by bacteria entering the urinary system. This system includes the kidneys, bladder, ureters (thin tubes connecting the kidneys to the bladder), and the urethra (the tube through which urine leaves the body).

The most common culprit is Escherichia coli (E. Coli), a type of bacteria normally found in the intestines.

While most types of E. Coli are harmless in the gut, it can cause infection if it enters the urinary tract. UTIs are particularly prevalent in women due to their shorter urethras, which make it easier for bacteria to reach the bladder.

Roughly 50% of women will experience at least one UTI in their lifetime, and up to half of those will have a recurrence within six months.

UTIs are caused by bacteria enterning the urinary system. Oxo7051/Shutterstock

The symptoms of a UTI typically include a burning sensation when you wee, frequent urges to go even when the bladder is empty, cloudy or strong-smelling urine, and pain or discomfort in the lower abdomen or back. If left untreated, a UTI can escalate into a kidney infection, which can require more intensive treatment.

While antibiotics are the go-to treatment for UTIs, the rise of antibiotic resistance and the fact many people experience frequent reinfections has sparked more interest in preventive options, including vaccines.

What is Uromune?

Uromune is a bit different to traditional vaccines that are injected into the muscle. It's a sublingual spray, which means you spray it under your tongue. Uromune is generally used daily for three months.

It contains inactivated forms of four bacteria that are responsible for most UTIs, including E. Coli. By introducing these bacteria in a controlled way, it helps your immune system learn to recognise and fight them off before they cause an infection. It can be classified as an immunotherapy.

A recent study involving 1,104 women found the Uromune vaccine was 91.7% effective at reducing recurrent UTIs after three months, with effectiveness dropping to 57.6% after 12 months.

These results suggest Uromune could provide significant (though time-limited) relief for women dealing with frequent UTIs, however peer-reviewed research remains limited.

Any side effects of Uromune are usually mild and may include dry mouth, slight stomach discomfort, and nausea. These side effects typically go away on their own and very few people stop treatment because of them. In rare cases, some people may experience an allergic reaction.

How can I access it?

In Australia, Uromune has not received full approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and so it's not something you can just go and pick up from the pharmacy.

However, Uromune can be accessed via the TGA's Special Access Scheme or the Authorised Prescriber pathway. This means a GP or specialist can apply for approval to prescribe Uromune for patients with recurrent UTIs. Once the patient has a form from their doctor documenting this approval, they can order the vaccine directly from the manufacturer.

Antibiotics are the go-to treatment for UTIs – but scientists are looking at options to prevent them in the first place. Photoroyalty/Shutterstock

Uromune is not covered under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, meaning patients must cover the full cost out-of-pocket. The cost of a treatment program is around A$320.

Uromune is similarly available through special access programs in places like the United Kingdom and Europe.

Other options in the pipeline

In addition to Uromune, scientists are exploring other promising UTI vaccines.

Uro-Vaxom is an established immunomodulator, a substance that helps regulate or modify the immune system's response to bacteria. It's derived from E. Coli proteins and has shown success in reducing UTI recurrences in several studies. Uro-Vaxom is typically prescribed as a daily oral capsule taken for 90 days.

FimCH, another vaccine in development, targets something called the adhesin protein that helps E. Coli attach to urinary tract cells. FimCH is typically administered through an injection and early clinical trials have shown promising results.

Meanwhile, StroVac, which is already approved in Germany, contains inactivated strains of bacteria such as E. Coli and provides protection for up to 12 months, requiring a booster dose after that. This injection works by stimulating the immune system in the bladder, offering temporary protection against recurrent infections.

These vaccines show promise, but challenges like achieving long-term immunity remain. Research is ongoing to improve these options.

No magic bullet, but there's reason for optimism

While vaccines such as Uromune may not be an accessible or perfect solution for everyone, they offer real hope for people tired of recurring UTIs and endless rounds of antibiotics.

Although the road to long-term relief might still be a bit bumpy, it's exciting to see innovative treatments like these giving people more options to take control of their health.

"Embarrassingly Simple" Tag Puts IV Chemotherapy Drugs In Pill Form

Taking a pill is the easiest, least invasive way to take medicine, but unfortunately, not all drugs work that way. Now, Stanford scientists have found "an embarrassingly simple solution" that could make almost any drug molecule effective in oral pill form, testing it in mice with chemotherapy drugs that are normally administered through IV infusion.

In essence, what the team has developed is a small molecular tag that can be attached to most drug molecules that makes them more effective as oral pills. This means that not only can current pills work the same with smaller or fewer doses, but other drugs that can't currently be given orally might now be viable in that form.

"This is an embarrassingly simple solution to an old problem," said Mark Smith, lead author of the study. "With this strategy, we can accelerate a huge variety of new drugs through the clinic."

The problem with many oral drugs is bioavailability – how much of the dose is available for the body to absorb. Ideally, drugs need to be both water-soluble, to dissolve in the stomach and pass into the bloodstream, and oil-soluble to get into the cells to do their work. Doing both is tricky, so many drugs skip the water problem and focus on oil solubility, requiring IV infusion instead.

But the new tag is cleverly designed to change the solubility of the drug molecule it's attached to. It starts off water soluble, but as the drug passes through the stomach or intestinal wall, enzymes there snip off the tag. As such, by the time the drug reaches the bloodstream it's become oil soluble instead, ready to get to work.

The Stanford team demonstrated the technique in mice by giving them pill versions of chemotherapy drugs that usually need to be given intravenously. The first target was a drug called vemurafenib, which is used to treat melanoma and other cancers. Unfortunately, it's extremely insoluble in water, so patients need to take four large pills twice a day to wring out even a tiny amount of the drug.

But once the researchers added their tag to the molecule, its bioavailability jumped from almost nothing to 100%. That means much smaller doses would be needed, and more patients would respond better to the therapy.

"At the outset of the project, we were merely hoping to make drugs soluble in water," said Smith. "With this example, we went way beyond our expectations."

So the scientists took it to the next level. They attached the tag to paclitaxel, an IV-infused chemotherapy drug long used to treat breast, lung, prostate, ovarian, bladder and pancreatic cancers. Then they administered oral pills to mice with pancreatic cancer.

Sure enough, this oral paclitaxel performed well – even better than a standard IV dose. This marks the first report of the drug being effective orally, and the team saw no signs of toxicity.

"This could transform the way millions of patients around the world receive chemotherapy," said Smith. "They'll have the convenience of staying home to receive care, and they won't have to do long infusions or receive steroids."

Of course, it's still very early days for the research, with human tests required before any conclusions can be drawn. But the team is hopeful that the tag could make a huge range of drugs more viable in pill form, reducing discomfort and side effects of IV administration.

The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Source: Stanford University

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