An hour a day of exercise
cuts colon cancer risk
Url: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2006/12/11/exercise-colon-cancer.html
One hour a day of vigorous physical
activity or two hours of moderate activity reduces the risk of colon cancer, European
researchers say.
Blame Our Evolutionary Risk of Cancer on Our Body Mass
Url: http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=2698
A key enzyme that cuts short our cellular
lifespan in an effort to thwart cancer has now been linked to body mass.
Until now, scientists believed that our
relatively long lifespans controlled the expression of telomerase—an enzyme that can
lengthen the lives of cells, but can also increase the rate of cancer.
Vera Gorbunova, assistant professor of
biology at the University of Rochester, conducted a first-of-its-kind study to discover
why some animals express telomerase while others, like humans, don't. The findings are
reported in today's issue of Aging Cell.
"Mice express telomerase in all their
cells, which helps them heal dramatically fast," says Gorbunova. "Skin lesions
heal much faster in mice, and after surgery a mouse's recovery time is far shorter than a
human's. It would be nice to have that healing power, but the flip side of it is runaway
cell reproduction—cancer."
Common Cancer Treatments Toxic to Healthy Brain Cells
Url: http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/pr/news/story.cfm?id=1312
Common drugs used to treat cancer may be
more harmful to healthy brain cells than the cancer cells that they are intended to
destroy. That is the conclusion of a study conducted by researchers at the University of
Rochester Medical Center and published today in the Journal of Biology. The results, which
also indicate that chemotherapy may cause long-term brain damage, represent the closest
that scientists have come to pinpointing the underlying physiological cause of “chemo
brain,” a common side effect of cancer treatment that scientists are only now
beginning to comprehend.
Antibody Extends Life of Mice with Breast Cancer
Url: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/fast-execute.cgi/article-page.html?article=82850009
A monoclonal antibody developed by
researchers at the University at Buffalo has been shown to extend significantly the
survival of mice with human breast-cancer tumors and to inhibit the cancer's spread to the
lungs in the animals by more than 50 percent. The antibody, named JAA-F11, targets a
particular disaccharide, an antigen known as TF-Ag, which aids the adhesion and spread of
certain cancer cells. While the antibody did not kill the cancer cells, it blocked stages
of cancer-cell growth that allow the cells to adhere to organ tissue, the research showed.
Prevent cancer, use olive oil
Url: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-12/foas-nyr121106.php
Prevent cancer, use olive oil. Innovative
research article in the FASEB Journal suggests olive oil has a significant impact on
cancer rates. If you want to avoid developing cancer, then you might want to add eating
more olive oil to your list of New Year's resolutions. In a study to be published in the
January 2007 issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists from five European countries describe
how the anti-cancer effects of olive oil may account for the significant difference in
cancer rates among Northern and Southern Europeans.
The authors drew this conclusion based on
the outcomes of volunteers from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, and Spain, who consumed
25 milliliters (a little less than a quarter cup) of olive oil every day for three weeks.
During this time, the researchers examined urine samples of the subjects for specific
compounds known to be waste by-products of oxidative damage to cells, a precursor to
cancer. At the beginning of the trial, the presence of these waste by-products was much
higher in Northern European subjects than their Southern European counterparts. By the end
of three weeks, however, the presence of this compound in Northern European subjects was
substantially reduced.
"Determining the health benefits of
any particular food is challenging because of it involves relatively large numbers of
people over significant periods of time," said lead investigator Henrik E. Poulsen,
M.D. of Rigshospitalet, Denmark. "In our study, we overcame these challenges by
measuring how olive oil affected the oxidation of our genes, which is closely linked to
development of disease. This approach allows us to determine if olive oil or any other
food makes a difference. Our findings must be confirmed, but every piece of evidence so
far points to olive oil being a healthy food. By the way, it also tastes great."
Another interesting finding in the study
suggests that researchers are just beginning to unlock the mysteries of this ancient
"health food." Specifically, the researchers found evidence that the phenols in
olive oil are not the only compounds that reduced oxidative damage. Phenols are known
antioxidant compounds that are present in a wide range of everyday foods, such as dark
chocolate, red wine, tea, fruits, and vegetables. Despite reducing the level of phenols in
the olive oil, the study's subjects still showed that they were receiving the same level
of health benefits.
"Every New Year people make
resolutions that involve eating less fat to improve their health," said Gerald
Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "This academically sound,
practically useful study shows that what you eat is just as important as how much you eat.
No wonder Plato taught wisdom in an olive grove called Academe."
Number of Siblings Predicts Risk of Brain Tumors
Url: http://www.aan.com/press/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=423
How many brothers and sisters you have,
especially younger ones, could predict your chances of developing a brain tumor, according
to a study published in the December 12, 2006, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal
of the American Academy of Neurology. The population-based study, the largest of its kind,
analyzed 13,613 brain tumor cases in Sweden. It found people with four or more siblings
were twice as likely to develop a brain tumor as people with no siblings. The study also
found there was a two to fourfold increase in brain tumor rates among children younger
than 15 who had three or more younger siblings compared to children of the same age who
had no siblings. The study did not find an association between the number of older
siblings and brain tumors.
When the package says 'low fat,' the calories can pile up, Cornell study of
snack foods finds
Url: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Dec06/RN.low.fat.sl.html
People -- especially overweight people --
consume up to 50 percent more calories when they eat low-fat versions of snack foods than
when they eat the regular versions, according to a new Cornell study. Further, a companion
study finds, when food labels show serving sizes on such packaged low-fat snacks as
granola or chocolates, normal-weight people tend not to overeat them while overweight
people do. "This is a world of fat-free, carb-free and sugar-free products,"
said Brian Wansink, the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing and of Applied Economics at
Cornell. In fact, many low-fat-labeled foods have only about 30 percent fewer calories
than their regular counterparts.
"Often, the fat-free version is not
much lower calorie than the regular version," Wansink said. "Low-fat labels
trick people into eating more than regular labels. But the cruel twist is that these
labels have an even more dramatic impact on those who are overweight. They are at danger
for really overindulging when they see something with a low-fat label. If we are looking
for an excuse to eat, low-fat labels give it to us." He recommends that
low-fat-labeled foods post larger, more realistic serving sizes, which might deter people
from eating too much by giving them a more accurate calorie count. The study, conducted
with Pierre Chandon, a marketing professor at INSEAD, an international business school in
France, is published in the November issue of the Journal of Marketing Research and
reported in Wansink's book, "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think."
Gene That Governs Pain Perception Is Found
Url: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/health/14pain.html?ref=health
Geneticists following up the case of a
10-year-old Pakistani boy who could walk on coals without discomfort have discovered a
gene that is central to the perception of pain.
A mutation in the gene knocks out all perception of injury, raising hopes of developing
novel drugs that would abolish pain by blocking the gene’s function.
Could the Ability to Expel Worms Lead to a Future Asthma Treatment?
Url: http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/pr/news/story.cfm?id=1329
Based on experiments with worms similar to
those that infest millions of children in the tropics, researchers see potential for a new
way to treat asthma.
Parasitic infections and asthma may cause the human immune system to react in some of the
same ways, and may one day be cured by manipulating some of the
same proteins, according to research published today in the journal Science.
Breast Cancer Drop Tied to Hormones
Url: http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/12/14/ap3256694.html
U.S. breast cancer rates plunged an
unprecedented 7 percent in 2003, the year after millions of women stopped taking menopause
hormones when a study showed the pills raise the risk of tumors.
Research offers hope for alcoholics
Url: http://www.hfi.unimelb.edu.au/content/news/hm_news01_curn.html
Australian scientists have found a system
in the brain that stops the craving for alcohol and prevents relapse after one recovers
from the addiction.
Autism problems explained in new research
Url: http://www.hfi.unimelb.edu.au/content/news/popup_news38.html
New research from Melbourne's Howard Florey
Institute helps to explain why children with autism spectrum disorders (autism) have
problem-solving difficulties. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging technology
(fMRI) the Florey scientists have shown that children with autism have less activation in
the deep parts of the brain responsible for executive function (attention, reasoning and
problem solving). Research leader Dr Ross Cunnington said autism was known to have a
biological cause, but this neuroimaging research clearly showed the dysfunction in the
brain that accounted for why children with autism have problems with their executive
function.
Stanford study will evaluate effects of pine bark extracts
Url: http://mednews.stanford.edu/releases/2006/november/pinebark.html
High blood pressure puts millions of people
at risk for heart attacks, stroke or kidney failure. While there are many prescription
medications for the condition, some patients are also interested in natural supplements as
an alternative treatment option. A new study at the Stanford University School of Medicine
will assess whether a supplement made from pine bark extract can help reduce the blood
pressure of people who are at mild to moderate risk for heart disease. They will also
assess whether the supplement has other positive effects on the cardiovascular system.
Male circumcision reduces the risk of becoming infected with HIV, but does not
provide complete protection
Url: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2006/s18/en/index.html
The Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS and its Cosponsors, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Bank, note with considerable
interest today’s announcement by the US National Institutes of Health that two trials
assessing the impact of male circumcision on HIV risk are being stopped on the
recommendation of the NIH Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB). The two trials, funded
by the US National Institutes of Health, were carried out in Kisumu, Kenya, among men aged
18-24 years and in Rakai, Uganda, among men aged 15-49 years. The trials, which completed
enrolment of patients in 2005, were stopped by the DSMB evaluating the results of interim
analyses. The role of the DSMB is to assess progress of the trials and recommend whether
to continue, modify or terminate them. Although no detailed results have been released at
this time, the National Institutes of Health statement makes it clear that the studies are
being stopped because they revealed an approximate halving of risk of HIV infection in men
who were circumcised.
