Mathematical modeling of the metastatic process

Mathematical modeling in cancer has been growing in popularity and impact since its inception in 1932. The first theoretical mathematical modeling in cancer research was focused on understanding tumor growth laws and has grown to include the competition between healthy and normal tissue, carcinogenesis, therapy and metastasis. It is the latter topic, metastasis, on which we will focus this short review, specifically discussing various computational and mathematical models of different portions of the metastatic process, including: the emergence of the metastatic phenotype, the timing and size distribution of metastases, the factors that influence the dormancy of micrometastases and patterns of spread from a given primary tumor.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, Revie

Healthy Lifestyles to Reduce Risk of Dementia

Dementia is characterised by cognitive impairment affecting daily life. Reducing lifestyle-related risk factors is currently the only method of treatment due to limited success of current pharmaceutical interventions. This chapter provides an overview of research on nutrients and their impact in preventing cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Physical activity and possibly cognitive activity may be more likely to have lifelong positive preventative effects against cognitive decline and dementia. We focus on studies investigating diet, nutrition, physical, and cognitive activities to both prevent and treat dementia symptoms. These studies suggest that a lifespan approach is needed, as some interventions are more successful in midlife (nutrition/diet, prevention of cardiovascular disease including obesity), while others, such as physical and cognitive activities, can still be effective in old age