Monday May 4, 2009

Grapefruit juice boosts drug's anti-cancer effects
NewsRx.com 05-01-09
In a small, early clinical trial, researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center have found that combining eight ounces of grapefruit juice with the drug rapamycin can increase drug levels, allowing lower doses of the drug to be given. They also showed that the combination can be effective in treating various types of cancer (see also University of Chicago Medical Center).
For two decades, pharmacists have pasted DO-NOT-TAKE-WITH-GRAPEFRUIT-JUICE stickers on various pill bottles because it can interfere with the enzymes that break down and eliminate certain drugs. This interference makes the drugs more potent. In data presented at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009, the Chicago researchers examine ways to exploit this fruit's medication-altering properties.
"Grapefruit juice can increase blood levels of certain drugs three to five times," said study director Ezra Cohen, MD, a cancer specialist at the University of Chicago Medical Center. "This has always been considered a hazard. We wanted to see if, and how much, it could amplify the availability, and perhaps the efficacy of rapamycin, a drug with promise for cancer treatment."
This trial was designed to test "whether we could use this to boost rapamycin's bioavailability to the patient's advantage, to determine how much the juice altered drug levels, and to assess its impact on anti-cancer activity and side effects," he said.
The study followed 28 patients with advanced solid tumors, for which there is no effective treatment. The dose of the drug increased with each group of five patients, from 15 milligrams up to 35. Patients took the drug by mouth, as a liquid, once a week.
Beginning in week two, they washed it down with a glass of grapefruit juice (Citius paradisi), taken immediately after the rapamycin and then once a day for the rest of the week.
Twenty-five participants remained in the study long enough to be evaluated. Seven of those 25 (28%) had stable disease, with little or no tumor growth. One patient (4%) had a partial response, with the tumor shrinking by about 30 percent. That patient is still doing well more than a year after beginning the trial.
"My first cancer doctor gave me five years to live," said that patient, Albina Duggan of Bourbonnais, IL. "That time runs out next July."
Duggan, mother of four, has a rare cancer, an epitheliod hemangioendothelioma that originated in the liver and subsequently spread to two vertebrae in the neck and to the lymph nodes. She had surgery and radiation therapy and was evaluated for a liver transplant, but evidence of cancer beyond the liver made her ineligible for a transplant. She "shopped around" for other therapies and was able to keep the disease in check for a year with sorafenib, a drug approved for kidney and liver cancers.
After a year of stable disease, however, her tumor began growing again and she had to look for an alternative therapy. Her doctors at the University of Chicago offered three clinical trials. The most appealing to her was the rapamycin plus grapefruit juice study. She took her first dose March 11, 2008, and is still on the drug-juice combination.
"My tumor is smaller and it's no longer growing. I feel fine. I can do whatever I like and I have no real side effects," she said. "What's not to like?"
Trial subjects do not like the taste of rapamycin. "It's not pleasant," Duggan admitted. She has also tired of grapefruit juice.
Many patients in the study did report side effects. More than half experienced elevated blood sugar levels, diarrhea, low white blood cell counts or fatigue.
Duggan, more fortunate than most, has had milder side effects, including fragile toe and finger nails and curly hair. "I now have very curly hair," she said, "seriously curly. I have to adjust to it."
Rapamycin, also known as sirolimus, was originally developed to suppress the immune system, preventing rejection in patients receiving a transplanted kidney. Cancer specialists became interested in the drug when they learned that it disrupted a biochemical pathway involved in the development of the new blood vessels that tumors need to grow. But the drug is expensive and poorly absorbed. Less than 15 percent of rapamycin is absorbed when taken by mouth.
This study showed that substances known a furanocoumarins, plentiful in some forms of grapefruit juice, can decrease the breakdown of rapamycin. This makes the drug reach higher levels in the bloodstream, two to four times the levels seen without a juice boost, and thus increases the amount of the drug that reaches its targets.
"That means more of the drug hits the target, so we need less of the drug," said Cohen.
Many of the newer cancer medications, precisely focused on specific targets, are now taken as pills rather than intravenously. Some of these drugs, including rapamycin, can cost thousands of dollars a month. Hence, "this is an opportunity for real savings," Cohen said. "A daily glass of juice could lower the cost by 50 percent."
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8211&Section=Disease

Wine drinkers live longer

LIFE EXTENSIONS, May 01, 2009
A report published ahead of print on April 29, 2009 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health revealed the finding of Dutch researchers of an association between drinking wine and improved life expectancy.
Dr M. T. Streppel and colleagues evaluated data from 1,373 participants in the Zutphen Study of middle-aged men residing in Zutphen, Netherlands. Periodic interviews conducted from 1960 through June, 2000 obtained information on food and alcohol intake, weight, smoking status, and disease incidence. Over the follow-up period 1,130 deaths were confirmed, of which more than half were attributable to cardiovascular disease.
The percentage of men who consumed alcohol increased from 45 percent in 1960 to 86 percent in 2000, with wine drinkers increasing from 2 percent to about 44 percent. Long-term intake of up to 20 grams per day of alcohol was associated with a 67 percent reduction in the risk of dying from cerebrovascular disease, a 70 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality risk, and a 25 percent reduction in mortality from all causes over the course of follow-up compared to no alcohol consumption.
Life expectancy at age 50 was found to be increased by approximately 2 years among those who reported light alcohol intake compared with subjects who reported no alcohol consumption. The increase in life expectancy was slightly less among participants who consumed more than 20 grams per day. When those who reported drinking only wine in moderation were analyzed, they were found to have an increase in life expectancy that was 2.5 years greater than those who drank other alcoholic beverages and 5 years greater than nondrinkers.
“To our knowledge, we are the first to study the effects of absolute alcohol intake and type of alcoholic beverage on life expectancy,” the authors write. “More studies are needed to verify our results.”
http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2009_05.htm#wine-drinkers-live-longer

Reverence for life aids recovery from heart surgery
Last Updated: 2009-05-01 14:47:04 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having a deep reverence for life seems to have a positive influence on health outcomes after heart bypass surgery, according to a study reported today at the American Geriatrics Society annual meeting in Chicago. This supports the potential influence of a "spiritual effect" on patients' recovery.
A handful of studies have linked religious factors, especially strong beliefs, with positive outcomes after bypass surgery, the researchers point out. "Yet, little is known about the role of faith factors in relation to secular belief systems."
To investigate, two University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania researchers - Amy L. Ai and S. F. Bolling -- conducted in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 177 patients 2 weeks before coronary artery bypass surgery and followed up with them after surgery.
"After controlling for medical variables, demographics and age, spirituality in secular contexts still stood out as having an independent direct effect on outcome," Ai noted in a telephone interview with Reuters Health ahead of the meeting.
Specifically, "a deep sense of reverence" for life predicted fewer post-surgery complications and fewer nights in the hospital after surgery.
"It's a personal sense of spirituality, a sense of deep interconnectedness with something that has significant meaning in your life -- like music, art, the natural environment, or providing love and support to others -- the kinds of things that provide a person with spiritual, uplifting feelings that is the key," Ai said.
In this particular study, frequency of prayer was also associated with reduced postoperative complications, Ai and Bolling found, but neither attendance at religious services nor spiritual experiences that enhanced one's belief was related to outcomes.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/05/01/eline/links/20090501elin003.html

Vegan diet not linked to bone loss
Last Updated: 2009-05-01 12:39:33 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Postmenopausal vegans and meat-eaters may have similar bone density, despite vegans' lower calcium and protein intake, a small study suggests.
Vegan diets are free of all animal products, including eggs and dairy; one concern has been that female vegans might not get enough of certain nutrients, including calcium, to maintain a healthy bone mass.
However, in the new study, researchers found that Buddhist nuns -- who follow a strict vegan diet free of all animal products -- had bone mass that was comparable to women their age who ate meat.
The study, reported in the journal Osteoporosis International, included 105 Vietnamese nuns who were 62 years old, on average, and
105 meat-eaters of the same age.
Using bone scans, the researchers found that women in both groups had similar average bone density in the spine, hip and body as a whole.
Rates of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis were also comparable;
17 percent of vegans had osteoporosis in the hip area, as did 14 percent of non-vegans.
This was despite the fact that vegans generally consumed about half as much calcium and protein as meat-eaters did, according to senior researcher Dr. Tuan V. Nguyen, of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia.
It was somewhat surprising that the vegan nuns got so much less calcium, Nguyen's team noted. "But there seemed to be no significant effect on health," Nguyen told Reuters Health.
The reasons are not clear, the researcher added, but may have to do with the nuns' intake of soybeans, which studies suggest may lessen postmenopausal bone loss -- possibly due to estrogen-like compounds called isoflavones.
Whether the findings extend to all vegan women is not entirely clear, as Buddhist nuns have a different overall lifestyle from the general population. One difference, Nguyen noted, is that they may be more physically active in their daily lives, with activities such as gardening.
Regular exercise, particularly weight-bearing activities that make the body work against gravity, is known to build and maintain bone mass.
SOURCE: Osteoporosis International, online April 7, 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/05/01/eline/links/20090501elin006.html

Flu pandemic could overload U.S. health system
Last Updated: 2009-05-01 17:00:14 -0400 (Reuters Health)
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A rapidly spreading flu outbreak may quickly overload a U.S. health system already straining from hospital closures, cuts in public health funding, a nursing shortage and too many uninsured patients, health experts said on Friday.
They said the threat of a flu pandemic caused by an unusual new strain of the h3N1 influenza virus has shone a bright light on what may see as a broken U.S. health system.
"I don't think we are anywhere near ready" for a pandemic, said Deborah Burger of the California Nurses Association in a telephone interview. "We've already been behind the eight-ball. Patients have been delaying their care and treatment because of the economy," Burger said.
"They've had major losses of healthcare benefits and job losses, so they are not being able to afford the medicines they would normally be taking, let alone being able to have access to any of the kind of healthcare for this possible pandemic."
The country's most severe recession in a generation has cost more than 5 million jobs since it began in late 2007, and an estimated 46 million Americans already lacked health insurance.
Burger said she is worried about "massive slashes" in public health care funding, including $870 million slated for flu preparedness that was removed from the economic stimulus bill.
RESTORING INFRASTUCTURE
This week President Barack Obama asked Congress for another $1.5 billion for pandemic preparedness. Such spending often benefits the public health infrastructure and several studies show where it may be needed.
A recent survey by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials found at least 40 percent of state health departments expect to lose staff through layoffs or attrition this year.
"What we're concerned about is the public health clinics," Bruger said. "The most likely people to be affected by this (flu) are low wage earner workers that have to depend on the public health system to get their care," she added.
"We're also concerned about the emergency room aspect because of the capacity."
A survey this week by the American Hospital Association found that six out of 10 hospitals have more patients without insurance coming through their emergency departments.
Yet nearly half of hospitals reported they have cut staff.
"There is no question it comes at a bad time," Dr. Lynn Massingale, executive chairman of TeamHealth, which supplies emergency department physicians to some 300 U.S. hospitals, said in a telephone interview.
"Hospital emergency department visits have grown at a rate of 2 or 3 percent a year for the last 15 or 20 years," he said. "Almost all ERs are busy. They are strained financially."
He said many hospitals have been forced to close certain floors because there are not enough nurses to keep them open.
But the biggest threat in a pandemic would be health care workers who get sick or have to stay home to take care of family members. "That to us is the train wreck scenario," Massingale said.
Massingale said so far, emergency room doctors have not seen any evidence of the system failing. "But we are seeing some of those volumes starting to crank up and we'll know a lot more over the next two or three days."
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/05/01/eline/links/20090501elin022.html

The science of stevia

Nutraingredients.com, 30-Apr-2009

There has been much excitement about the promise of stevia as a natural alternative to artificial zero-calorie sweeteners. FoodNavigator.com summarises the science so far.
Interest in the sweetener has been intense, particularly since the FDA issued its non-objection in December that the stevia-derived sweetener Reb A is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as a food additive.
Differentiation must be made between rebaudiside A and steviol glycosides in general. Rebaudioside A, also known as Reb A and rebiana, is a high-intensity sweetener derived from the stevia leaf. It is said to be approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar.
Safety
The majority of the science around stevia and rebaudioside A are related to its safety. A significant body of research was published online in the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology (July 2008, Vol. 46, Supplement 1, Pages S1-S92), which found that rebiana - a high-purity Rebaudioside A from stevia - is safe for use as a sweetener for foods and beverages.
An overview in the journal’s supplement by scientists from Coca-Cola, Cargill, and an independent toxicologist said that the studies found the ingredient met all current JEFCA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives) specifications for steviol glycosides.
“The due diligence of the rebiana scientific program reported in this Supplement reflects a commitment by industry partners to, at long last, fully address regulatory requirements for this naturally occurring sweetener by providing the scientific basis to conclude high purity rebaudioside A (rebiana), produced under current GMP to food-grade standards, is safe and appropriate for introduction into the global marketplace,” they concluded.
The FDA issued letters of no objection to GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status for stevia-based Reb A at 95 percent purity or above in December.
Flavour masking
Scientists have also been exploring ways to mask the liquorice or bitter flavours associated with the Reb A stevia extract. The problematic aftertaste has presented difficulties for companies wishing to use the sweetener, and flavour companies have been trying to find ways to mask it without detracting from the perceived benefits of its natural status.
Cargill recently announced a dual-layered approach, starting with its patented technology examining taste responses to Reb A “at a cellular level” and then developing flavour solutions based on these findings.
Comax Flavors released a natural masking flavour in March to mask the bitter aftertaste associated with stevia-derived sweetener Reb A.
A month earlier, Givaudan claimed that it had discovered the bitter taste receptors for stevia, allowing it to focus its flavour ingredients research on blocking the mechanism of these receptors.
The company has said that it is in the process of applying for patents related to the discovery.
Photo-stability
In September a new study from Coca-Cola reported that its high purity stevia extract (rebaudioside A) does not degrade in beverages on exposure to light. Published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, this research was seen as important for establishing the stability of the Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni)-derived sweetener rebaudioside A.
The results also challenge an earlier study from the 1980s that reported significant degradation of rebaudioside A on exposure to sunlight, equivalent to one week of sunlight during the summer.
To read the article about the study, click here.
Health benefits
Stevia glycosides (SGs) have been reported to not only sweeten but also have some health benefits, including effects on blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Indeed, these observations formed the basis of a citizen’s petition filed by a Washington DC-based law firm called Coburn & Coffman PLLC.
The petition, filed in October, focused on § 301(ll) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), and was made on the grounds that SGs have been studied for therapeutic uses, thereby contending that SGs are drugs and therefore cannot be legally added to conventional foods.
In December, FDA concluded that it had no objection to rebiana, (Reb A) at 95 percent purity or above, having GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status as a general purpose sweetener for food and drink, not just as a supplement.
Other health benefits include a report from Indian researchers in 2007 that stevia may also be a rich source of antioxidants and may protect against DNA damage and cancer.
According to findings in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2007, Vol. 55, pp 10962-10967), researchers led by Srijani Ghanta from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in Kolkata reported that an extract from Stevia rebaudiana leaves was found to contain an abundance of antioxidant polyphenols, including quercitrin, apigenin, and kaempferol.
Ghanta and his co-workers used methanol and ethyl acetate for the extraction, Subsequent tests showed that the extract could protect against DNA strand scission by hydroxide radicals.
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/The-science-of-stevia

How Mercury Emissions Reach Tuna And Other Seafood, And Why Mercury Contamination Is Likely To Worsen

ScienceDaily (May 3, 2009) — A new landmark study documents for the first time the process in which increased mercury emissions from human sources across the globe, and in particular from Asia, make their way into the North Pacific Ocean and as a result contaminate tuna and other seafood. Because much of the mercury that enters the North Pacific comes from the atmosphere, scientists have predicted an additional 50 percent increase in mercury in the Pacific by 2050 if mercury emission rates continue as projected.
“This unprecedented USGS study is critically important to the health and safety of the American people and our wildlife because it helps us understand the relationship between atmospheric emissions of mercury and concentrations of mercury in marine fish,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “We have always known that mercury can pose a risk, now we need to reduce the mercury emissions so that we can reduce the ocean mercury levels.”
"This study gives us a better understanding of how dangerous levels of mercury move into our air, our water, and the food we eat, and shines new light on a major health threat to Americans and people all across the world,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “With this information in hand, plus our own mercury efforts, we have an even greater opportunity to continue working with our international partners to significantly cut mercury pollution in the years ahead and protect the health of millions of people.”
Water sampling cited in the study shows that mercury levels in 2006 were approximately 30 percent higher than those measured in the mid-1990s. This study documents for the first time the formation of methylmercury in the North Pacific Ocean. It shows that methylmercury is produced in mid-depth ocean waters by processes linked to the “ocean rain.” Algae, which are produced in sunlit waters near the surface, die quickly and “rain” downward to greater water depths. At depth, the settling algae are decomposed by bacteria and the interaction of this decomposition process in the presence of mercury results in the formation of methylmercury. Many steps up the food chain later, predators like tuna receive methylmercury from the fish they consume.
One unexpected finding from this study is the significance of long-range transport of mercury within the ocean that originates in the western Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Asia.
“Mercury researchers typically look skyward to find a mercury source from the atmosphere due to emissions from land-based combustion facilities. In this study, however, the pathway of the mercury was a little different. Instead, it appears the recent mercury enrichment of the sampled Pacific Ocean waters is caused by emissions originating from fallout near the Asian coasts. The mercury-enriched waters then enter a long-range eastward transport by large ocean circulation currents,” said USGS scientist and coauthor David Krabbenhoft.
Scientists sampled Pacific Ocean water from 16 different sites between Honolulu, Hawaii and Kodiak, Alaska. In addition, the scientists constructed a computer simulation that links atmospheric emissions, transport and deposition of mercury, and an ocean circulation model.
In the United States, about 40 percent of all human exposure to mercury is from tuna harvested in the Pacific Ocean, according to Elsie Sunderland, a coauthor of the study. Methylmercury is a highly toxic form of mercury that rapidly accumulates in the food chain to levels that can cause serious health concerns for those who consume the seafood. Pregnant women who consume mercury can pass on life-long developmental effects to their children. That is why in 2004 EPA and FDA issued the landmark Joint Guidance on the Consumption of Fish specifically targeted towards pregnant women and nursing mothers. Previous studies show that 75 percent of human exposure worldwide to mercury is from the consumption of marine fish and shell fish.
Scientists have known for some time that mercury deposited from the atmosphere to freshwater ecosystems can be transformed (methylated) into methylmercury, but identifying the analogous cycles in marine systems has remained elusive. As a result of this study we now know more about how the process which leads to the transformation of mercury into methylmercury.
In addition to USGS mercury expert David Krabbenhoft, the authors include Elsie Sunderland, Harvard University; John Moreau, University of Melbourne, Australia (until recently a USGS, NRC Post Doctoral Candidate); William Landing, Florida State University; and Sarah Strode, Harvard University.
Sunderland et al. Mercury sources, distribution, and bioavailability in the North Pacific Ocean: Insights from data and models. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 2009; 23 (2): GB2010 DOI: 10.1029/2008GB003425
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090501195628.htm

Prostate Cancer Therapy Increases Risk Of Fractures And Cardiovascular-related Death

ScienceDaily (May 2, 2009) — Prostate cancer patients who undergo therapy to decrease testosterone levels increase their risk of developing bone- and heart-related side effects compared to patients who do not take these medications, according to a new analysis. The study indicates that preventive measures and careful scrutiny of patients' health can keep men from experiencing these potentially serious consequences.
While medical treatments that decrease testosterone levels—called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)—are important and effective therapies for men with prostate cancer, they can cause a variety of side effects including skeletal and cardiovascular complications, sexual dysfunction, periodontal disease, and mood disorders.
Bone and heart complications are among the most serious side effects associated with ADT, but the actual risk patients have of developing these effects is unknown. Lockwood Taylor, MPH, of the University of Texas Health Science Center and colleagues conducted a study to assess this risk by analyzing all of the literature related to side effects from ADT published between 1996 and mid-2008. They found 14 studies (8 bone-related, 6 heart-related) that were suitable for analysis.
The researchers' review revealed that men treated with ADT for prostate cancer had an increased risk of bone fractures and heart-related death, although the absolute risk for both was still low. For bone fractures, there was a 23 percent increased risk compared to prostate cancer patients who did not undergo the treatment. The absolute risk of fracture among ADT-exposed men was still only 7.2 per 100 person years. For heart-related death, the increased risk among ADT-exposed men was 17 percent higher compared to other prostate cancer patients. However, because the baseline risk is low, the increase translated to an additional one-to-two deaths per 1,000 men who received ADT. Two large studies also documented significant increases in diabetes risk associated with the therapy.
"While the absolute risks of fracture and cardiovascular mortality are low among men treated with androgen deprivation therapy, preventive treatments may further reduce the risk of these serious adverse outcomes related to androgen deprivation therapy," the authors wrote. They also noted that because some patients may benefit from this therapy more than others, physicians should consider each patient's overall health and prostate cancer status when weighing treatment options.
Lockwood G. Taylor, Steven E. Canfield, and Xianglin L. Du. Review of Major Adverse Effects of Androgen-deprivation Therapy in Men With Prostate Cancer. Cancer, Online April 27, 2009; Print Issue Date: June 1, 2009 DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24283
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090427010815.htm

Low Vitamin D Causes Problems For Acutely Ill Patients
ScienceDaily (May 2, 2009) — A group of endocrinologists in Sydney have observed that very sick patients tend to have very low levels of Vitamin D. The sicker they are, the lower the levels.
Dr Paul Lee, Professor John Eisman and Associate Professor Jackie Center, researchers at Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, examined a cohort of 42 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. Forty-five percent turned out to be Vitamin D deficient.
"Until now, the medical community has thought of Vitamin D deficiency as a chronic condition," said Dr Lee. "Little is known about its acute complications."
"Last year, we published several cases showing that Vitamin D deficiency can cause acute complications in the intensive care unit."
"Recently, Vitamin D has been recognised for its many roles beyond the musculoskeletal system. It has been implicated in diabetes, in the immune system, in cancers, in heart disease and in metabolic syndrome."
"Vitamin D appears to have roles in controlling sugar, calcium, heart function, gut integrity, immunity and defence against infection. Patients in ICU suffer from different degrees of inflammation, infection, heart dysfunction, diarrhoea and metabolic dysregulation – so vitamin D deficiency may play a role in each of these common ICU conditions."
"So we did a preliminary study and found that 45% of people in our ICU were Vitamin D deficient. There may be a bias, in that all patients were referred to endocrinology, so the numbers may not reflect the prevalence in a standard ICU cohort. However 45% is still a significant proportion.
When the team correlated the Vitamin D levels with a disease severity score, there was a direct correspondence between sickness and Vitamin D deficiency. In other words, the sicker someone was, the lower the levels of Vitamin D. Out of the 42 patients studied, there were 3 deaths. The 3 patients who died all had the lowest level of Vitamin D in the cohort.
"Perhaps when we are well, we have ways to compensate for organ dysfunction if we run low on Vitamin D," said Lee.
"But when we are very sick, the "sick organs" draw upon any vitamin D available to function properly, therefore we may need extra Vitamin D to maintain organ function during critical illness. However, at this stage, we don't know whether Vitamin D deficiency is just a marker of ill health, or whether it contributes to disease severity."
Lee believes that the study, while preliminary, is important because it highlights the fact that Vitamin D deficiency is common in intensive care units and is associated with disease severity.
The next step will be a randomised control study to investigate whether Vitamin D has benefits in critically ill patients. In simple terms, two groups of patients (who are evenly matched) will be treated, with Vitamin D added to the treatment of one group, but not the other. The outcomes will then be compared.
So should doctors be trying to raise the Vitamin D levels of their patients in the meantime?
Dr Lee hopes the randomised study may provide a more definitive answer to the question. "However, Vitamin D is very safe. It's inexpensive and has a very large safety window, making toxicity unlikely, unless there are underlying diseases causing high calcium. Giving vitamin D to severely deficient patients is very unlikely to cause harm. In addition, ICU patients are lying in bed for a long time, and are at risk of bone loss and osteoporosis. So if nothing else, Vitamin D will help protect their bones."
These findings will be published as a letter in the April 30, 2009 issue of the
New England Journal of Medicine.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090430091052.htm

Palm Oil Not A Healthy Substitute For Trans Fats
ScienceDaily (May 2, 2009) — Manufacturers are now required to state on food labels the amount of trans fatty acids, also called hydrogenated fats, in packaged foods. Both trans fatty acids and saturated fatty acids are associated with elevated heart disease risk factors.
Now, authors of an Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-supported study have addressed the question of whether palm oil, whose functional characteristics are similar to trans fats, would be a good substitute for partially hydrogenated fat.
Trans fatty acids (trans fats) are created during a hardening process called hydrogenation, which serves to make oils suitable for use in products that require solid fats, such as baked goods and breakfast bars. The clinical trial was designed to compare—on heart disease risk—the effect of four different oils as they are commonly consumed.
Lead scientist Alice H. Lichtenstein and colleagues conducted the study. She is with the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Mass.
Fifteen adults, both male and female, volunteered for the study. Their levels of LDL "bad" cholesterol were moderately high at 130 milligrams per deciliter of blood or above, and all were aged 50 or older. They each consumed each of four 35-day experimental diets. The fats tested were partially hydrogenated soybean oil (moderately high in trans fat), palm oil (high in saturated fat), canola oil (high in monounsaturated fat), and soybean oil (high in polyunsaturated fat).
The findings suggest that consuming either of the diets enriched with equivalent high amounts of palm oil or partially hydrogenated soybean oil would result in similar unfavorable levels of LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B (a protein, attached to fat particles, that carries bad cholesterol throughout the bloodstream). That's when compared to consuming either of the diets enriched with canola and soybean oils high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, respectively.
The results suggest that palm oil would not be a good substitute for trans fats by the food industry, the authors wrote.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090502084827.htm

Organic Dairy Manure May Offer High Quality Fertilizer Option

ScienceDaily (May 2, 2009) — Dairy cows that produce USDA-certified organic milk also produce manure that may gradually replenish soil nutrients and potentially reduce the flow of agricultural pollutants to nearby water sources, according to findings by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and colleagues.
Cows on organic dairy farms generally consume forage feeds cultivated on soils that are fertilized with manure and compost rather than manufactured fertilizers. This organic management, in turn, may significantly affect how easily nutrients are converted in soil into forms readily taken up by crops.
Working with colleagues at the ARS New England Plant, Soil, and Water Laboratory in Orono, Maine, and elsewhere, chemist Zhongqi He showed that conventional and organic dairy manures from commercial dairy farms differed in concentrations of plant nutrients, including phosphorus, metals and minerals.
The team used two different types of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to pinpoint these differences. Solution NMR spectroscopy is already widely used to analyze phosphorus content in manure. For this study, the scientists also analyzed manure content using solid-state NMR spectroscopy, which is especially effective at finding unique “signatures” of the different kinds of metals and minerals.
The researchers found that the two types of manure had at least 17 different chemical forms of phosphorus that varied in concentrations. The organic dairy manure had higher levels of phosphorus, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc and magnesium.
Organic dairy manure also contained more types of phosphorus found in association with calcium and magnesium. Such forms are comparatively slow to dissolve and would thus gradually release the nutrients. Slow-release fertilizers generally increase the likelihood that they eventually will be taken up by crops, rather than being washed out of fields into nearby surface or groundwater sources.
Because of this, slow-release fertilizers often can be applied at comparatively low rates. Manure produced by cows in organic production systems may show similar characteristics compared to manure from conventional systems.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090502084607.htm

Fish May Actually Feel Pain And React To It Much Like Humans Do

ScienceDaily (May 1, 2009) — Fish don't make noises or contort their faces to show that it hurts when hooks are pulled from their mouths, but a Purdue University researcher believes they feel that pain all the same.
Joseph Garner, an assistant professor of animal sciences, helped develop a test that found goldfish do feel pain, and their reactions to it are much like that of humans. 
"There has been an effort by some to argue that a fish's response to a noxious stimuli is merely a reflexive action, but that it didn't really feel pain," Garner said. "We wanted to see if fish responded to potentially painful stimuli in a reflexive way or a more clever way."
Garner and Janicke Nordgreen, a doctoral student in the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, attached small foil heaters to the goldfish and slowly increased the temperature. The heaters were designed with sensors and safeguards that shut off the heaters to prevent any physical damage to a fish's tissue.
Half of the fish were injected with morphine, and the others received saline. The researchers believed that those with the morphine would be able to withstand higher temperatures before reacting if they actually felt the pain. However, both groups of fish showed a response at about the same temperature.
Because both groups of fish wriggled at about the same temperature, the researchers thought the responses might be more like a reflex than a cognitive reaction to experiencing pain. The reflexive response is similar to a person involuntarily moving a hand off a hot stove with which they had come into contact. The reaction happens before a person actually experiences pain or understands that they have been hurt.
Upon later observation in their home tanks, however, the researchers noticed that the fish from each group were exhibiting different behaviors.
"The fish given the morphine acted like they always had: swimming and being fish," Garner said. "The fish that had gotten saline - even though they responded the same in the test - later acted different, though. They acted with defensive behaviors, indicating wariness, or fear and anxiety."
Nordgreen said those behavioral differences showed that fish can feel both reflexive and cognitive pain.
"The experiment shows that fish do not only respond to painful stimuli with reflexes, but change their behavior also after the event," Nordgreen said. "Together with what we know from experiments carried out by other groups, this indicates that the fish consciously perceive the test situation as painful and switch to behaviors indicative of having been through an aversive experience."
Garner believes that the morphine blocked the experience of pain, but not behavioral responses to the heat stimulus itself - either because the responses were reflexive or because the morphine blocked the experience of pain, but not the experience of an unusual stimulus.
"If you think back to when you have had a headache and taken a painkiller, the pain may go away, but you can still feel the presence or discomfort of the headache," Garner said.
Those with saline both experienced pain in the test, as well as responding to it, and were able to cognitively process that pain, thus causing the later fear and anxiety.
"The goldfish that did not get morphine experienced this painful, stressful event. Then two hours later, they turned that pain into fear like we do," Garner said. "To me, it sounds an awful lot like how we experience pain."
The findings could raise questions about slaughter methods and how fish are handled in research. Garner said standards of care could be revisited to ensure fish are being treated humanely.
Nordgreen et al. Thermonociception in fish: Effects of two different doses of morphine on thermal threshold and post-test behaviour in goldfish (Carassius auratus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2009; DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2009.03.015
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090430161242.htm

Poor Diet, Low Exercise Leads to Breast Cancer in Later Years

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com, May 4, 2009

(NaturalNews) A poor diet and a lack of exercise in childhood significantly increase a girl's risk of breast cancer later in life, according to the findings of a study conducted by researchers from the European Cancer Prevention Organization, presented at the conference of the European Society for Medical Oncology and published in the journal Pediatrics.

"Breast cancer seems to originate almost entirely in childhood," the researchers said. "The breast is most vulnerable at the very onset of development. Further research should focus on nutrition in children and breast cancer risk to prevent the disease."

The researchers analyzed the diets and lifestyle habits of 1,146 girls from birth until the age of 13. They found that the three biggest predictors of an early onset of puberty in the girls were a sedentary lifestyle, obesity and a diet high in high-glycemic (simple) carbohydrates.

"We know breast cancer is associated with obesity and a lack of physical activity," said Florian Strasser, scientific chair of the European Society for Medical Oncology. "This shows these factors are related to early puberty, which is also a risk factor."

Childhood exposure to infectious mononucleosis ("mono"), also known as glandular fever, also increased the risk of early puberty. Another risk factor was high levels of exposure to estrogen-mimicking chemicals such as those found in polycarbonate water and baby bottles or plastic toys.

Two hormone-disrupting compounds that have garnered much attention recently are bisphenol A, used to line food and beverage containers and to make plastics hard and transparent, and phthalates, used to make plastics soft and flexible. Because they mimic the effects of estrogen in the body, they can lead to reproductive and other developmental defects.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide. In 2005, it caused 502,000 deaths, accounting for 1 percent of all deaths and 7 percent of all cancer deaths.

The breast cancer rate among U.S. women is the highest in the world, at one in eight. Approximately one out of every 35 women in the United States will die from breast cancer.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026196.html

Study Predicts Huge Increase in Cancer Ahead

Sherry Baker, NaturalNews.com,  May 4, 2009

(NaturalNews) Just when we're all saturated with alarming news about a pending flu epidemic, new research from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center concludes a virtual epidemic of an even more dreaded disease -- cancer -- is headed our way. In fact, the scientists say over the next two decades, the number of new cancer cases diagnosed each year in the U.S. will increase by 45 percent. This dramatic spike in incidence is expected to especially hit the growing older Baby Boomers and non-white populations, with an amazing 100 percent increase in cancer expected for minorities.

But while the new study has sobering warnings, it can also be taken as a positive wake-up call. There's no reason to let the new data make you feel hopeless or helpless about a malignancy striking. Bottom line: numerous other studies have shown much cancer can be prevented by living a healthy lifestyle.

To come up with their projections for an impending explosion in the cancer rate, the M.D. Anderson team accessed U.S. Census Bureau statistics, updated in 2008 to project population growth through 2050, and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry. Then cancer incidence rates were figured out by multiplying the age, sex, race and origin-specific population projections by the age, sex, race and origin-specific cancer incidence rates.

The study, just published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, is the first to develop this kind of specific long-term cancer incidence projection. And the results are sobering. According to the researchers, we can expect a 67 percent increase in the number of adults age-65-or-older diagnosed with cancer (from 1 million in 2010 to 1.6 million in 2030) and, for non-white individuals over the same two-decade span of time, the incidence of malignancies will supposedly increase from 330,000 to 660,000.

Think the news can't get any worse? In a media statement, the study's senior author, Ben Smith, M.D., adjunct assistant professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Radiation Oncology, points out the soaring cancer rate will put enormous stress on the U.S. health care system -- which many describe as already unwieldy and even broken. "There's no doubt the increasing incidence of cancer is a very important societal issue. There will not be one solution to this problem, but many different issues that need to be addressed to prepare for these changes," Smith stated. "I'm afraid if we don't come to grips with this as a society, health care may be the next bubble to burst."

"Also alarming is that a number of the types of cancers that are expected to increase, such as liver, stomach and pancreas, still have tremendously high mortality rates," Dr. Smith said in a press release. He also warned that unless specific prevention and treatment methods are discovered, the rate of deaths from cancer will also rise dramatically.

However, before anyone takes this new study as more gloom-and-doom about some horrendously dangerous and inevitable health disaster ahead, remember that earlier research has reached other, dramatic conclusions about cancer. Instead of worrying about a malignancy striking your body, remember that a large amount of data shows cancer can be prevented in many cases by taking charge of your own health.

A case in point: back in February, a study by scientists at the American Institute for Cancer Research and the U.K.-based World Cancer Research Fund found more than a third (34 percent) of all cancer cases in America could be prevented simply by people eating better, exercising more and maintaining healthier weights. In fact, the study suggested that these fairly simple lifestyle changes could prevent as many as 38 percent of breast cancer cases and 45 percent of bowel cancers in the U.S.

In addition, researchers at Harvard evaluated the body of research into the causes of cancer and concluded the largest contributing factors to cancer involve lifestyle choices -- with about 70 percent of all cancer deaths attributed to smoking, diet and drinking habits, or a "sedentary lifestyle." And the American Cancer Society says most cancer deaths can be avoided and that the disease itself is mostly avoidable with healthy lifestyle choices.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026194.html

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Improves Autism

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com,  May 4, 2009

(NaturalNews) Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, already used for the treatment of the bends, carbon monoxide poisoning and a variety of other conditions, may lead to improvement in autistic patients, according to a study conducted by physician Daniel Rossignol and published in the British Medical Journal.

"These findings confirm what we are seeing in clinical practice -- that many children with autism may benefit with the use of this treatment," Rossignol said.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves having a patient inhale oxygen pressurized to a level greater than atmospheric pressure. While anecdotal evidence has already led many physicians to begin experimenting with the therapy as a treatment for autism, the current study is the first large scale, double-blind controlled clinical trial into its effectiveness.

Rossignol randomly assigned 62 autistic children between the ages of two and seven to inhale either air that consisted of 24 percent oxygen at 1.3 atm or only slightly pressurized air (1.03 atm) consisting of 21 percent oxygen for 40 sessions of one hour each. The treatment took place at six different centers across the United States.

After 40 hours of treatment, children in the hyperbaric (1.3 atm) treatment group showed significantly improvement in measures of eye contact, sensory and cognitive awareness, social interaction, receptive language and overall functioning, compared to children in the control (1.03 atm) group.

"We're not saying it's a cure," Rossignol said, "but ... if you can improve understanding so a kid doesn't run in front of a car, or improve sleep, that would be a benefit."

Researchers do not know what mechanisms hyperbaric therapy might act through to improve the symptoms of autism, but Rossignol hypothesized that it might help reduce the inflammation that constricts blood flow to the speech centers of autistic children's brains. It might also improve the brain's overall ability to absorb oxygen, with similar effects.

"With autism on the rise, it is promising to see a study that has been conducted with the high standards endorsed by the medical community," said Shannon Kenitz of the International Hyperbarics Association. "Having this scientifically controlled and analyzed study that shows the positive effects of hyperbarics is truly what this community has needed."
http://www.naturalnews.com/026186.html

Baby Products Contain Cancer-Causing Chemicals

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com, May 2. 2009

(NaturalNews) Baby shampoos, lotions and other toiletries advertised as safe may actually contain known carcinogens, according to a study conducted by the nonprofit organization Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

"Our intention is not to alarm parents, but to inform parents that products that claim to be gentle and pure are contaminated with carcinogens, which is completely unnecessary," Campaign for Safe Cosmetics spokesperson Stacy Malkan said.

The group analyzed 48 baby bath products for two known carcinogens, formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, finding that 23 contained the former, 32 contained the latter and 11 contained both.

Among the big-name products containing the carcinogens were Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo and Baby Magic lotion.

Although neither chemical is deliberately added to any of the products or listed among their ingredients, both can be produced as byproducts of the manufacturing or aging process. Formaldehyde is a byproduct of the normal decay of some cosmetics ingredients over time, while 1,4-dioxane is produced from the reaction of foaming agents with certain petrochemicals.

Both chemicals are classified as probable carcinogens by the Environmental Protection Agency, and 1,4-dioxane in lotions has been shown to penetrate human skin. 1,4-dioxane is prohibited as a cosmetic ingredient in the European Union.

"The levels we've found are relatively low, and the industry often says 'there's just a little bit of carcinogen in my product,'" Malkan said. "The problem is, we're finding a little bit of carcinogen in many products. Many of these products are used every day, so we've got repeated and frequent exposure to these low levels of chemicals. They're not the safest and purest products, and parents ought to know that."

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has called on the government to impose more strict regulations on personal care products. Several congresspeople have thrown their support behind the effort.

"The fact that we are bathing our kids in products contaminated with carcinogens shows how woefully out of date our cosmetics laws are and how urgently they need to be updated," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. "The science has moved forward; now the FDA needs to catch up and be given the authority to protect the health of Americans."
http://www.naturalnews.com/026181.html

Herbicide Used in Argentina Could Cause Birth Defects

Latin American Herald Tribune, May 4, 2009

BUENOS AIRES – The herbicide used on genetically modified soy – Argentina’s main crop – could cause brain, intestinal and heart defects in fetuses, according to the results of a scientific investigation released Monday.

Although the study “used amphibian embryos,” the results “are completely comparable to what would happen in the development of a human embryo,” embryology professor Andres Carrasco, one of the study’s authors, told Efe.

“The noteworthy thing is that there are no studies of embryos on the world level and none where glyphosate is injected into embryos,” said the researcher with the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research and director of the Molecular Embryology Laboratory.

The doses of herbicide used in the study “were much lower than the levels used in the fumigations,” and so the situation “is much more serious” that the study suggests because “glyphosate does not degrade,” Carrasco warned.

In Argentina, farmers each year use between 180 and 200 million liters of glyphosate, which was developed by the multinational Monsanto and sold in the United States under the brand name Roundup.

Carrasco said that the research found that “pure glyphosate, in doses lower than those used in fumigation, causes defects ... (and) could be interfering in some normal embryonic development mechanism having to do with the way in which cells divide and die.”

“The companies say that drinking a glass of glyphosate is healthier than drinking a glass of milk, but the fact is that they’ve used us as guinea pigs,” he said.

He gave as an example what occurred in Ituzaingo, a district where 5,000 people live on the outskirts of the central Argentine city of Cordoba, where over the past eight years about 300 cases of cancer associated with fumigations with pesticides have turned up.

“In communities like Ituzaingo it’s already too late, but we have to have a preventive system, to demand that the companies give us security frameworks and, above all, to have very strict regulations for fumigation, which nobody is adhering to out of ignorance or greed,” he said.

The researcher also said that, apart from the research he carried out, “there has to be a serious study” on the effects of glyphosate on human beings, adding that “the state has all the mechanisms for that.”

In the face of the volley of judicial complaints related to the disproportionate use of agrochemicals in the cultivation of GM soy, last February the Health Ministry created a group to investigate the problem in four Argentine provinces.

Argentina is the world’s third-largest exporter of soy.

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?CategoryId=14093&ArticleId=331718

Sigmon's Study Examines Caffeine Withdrawal

University of Vermont, 05-01-2009
Ever miss your daily cup of coffee and subsequently get a pounding headache? According to reports from consumers of coffee and other caffeinated products, caffeine withdrawal is often characterized by a headache, fatigue, feeling less alert, less energetic and experiencing difficulty concentrating. Stacey Sigmon, Ph.D., research associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and colleagues at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine sought to investigate the biological mechanisms of caffeine withdrawal in a paper published recently in the online edition of the scientific journal Psychopharmacology. They looked at brain electrical activity and blood flow during caffeine withdrawal to examine what was taking place physiologically during acute caffeine abstinence, including the likely mechanism underlying the common "caffeine withdrawal headache."
The group examined caffeine's effects in a double-blind study, which involved the administration of caffeine and placebo capsules. Each participant's response to the caffeine or placebo was measured using three different measures — brain electrical activity via electroencephalogram (EEG); blood flow velocity in the brain via ultrasound; and participants' self-reports of subjective effects via questionnaires.
The team demonstrated that stopping daily caffeine consumption produces changes in cerebral blood flow velocity and quantitative EEG that are likely related to the classic caffeine withdrawal symptoms of headache, drowsiness and decreased alertness. More specifically, acute caffeine abstinence increased brain blood flow, an effect that may account for commonly reported withdrawal headaches. Acute caffeine abstinence also produced changes in EEG (increased theta rhythm) that has previously been linked to the common withdrawal symptom of fatigue. Consistent with this, volunteers reported increases in measures of "tired," "fatigue," "sluggish" and "weary." Overall, these findings provide the most rigorous demonstration to date of physiological effects of caffeine withdrawal.
The researchers also discovered a provocative and somewhat unexpected finding — that there were no net benefits associated with chronic caffeine administration.
"In addition to looking at caffeine withdrawal, this rigorous design also permitted comparison of chronic caffeine maintenance with chronic placebo maintenance, which provides unique information about the extent to which there are net beneficial effects of daily caffeine administration," said Sigmon, who is first author on the study. "In contrast to what most of us coffee lovers would think, our study showed no difference between when the participant was maintained on chronic placebo and when the participant was stabilized on chronic caffeine administration. What this means is that consuming caffeine regularly does not appear to produce any net beneficial effects, based on the measures we examined."
Co-authors on the study, which was a collaboration between Sigmon and Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, include Griffiths, as well as Ronald Herning, Warren Better and Jean Cadet of the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Molecular Neuropsychiatry section.
http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=14159&SM=newssub.html