What vitamin can decrease childhood cancers?

In 1996, the Food and Drug Administration mandated that foods be fortified with folic acid. Foods fortified with folic acid include enriched breads, pastas, rice, flour, cereals and other grain products. Folic acid is a B-complex vitamin needed by the body to manufacture red blood cells.

After fortifying foods with folic acid, the incidence of Wilms tumor, primitive neuroectodermal tumors, and ependymomas was significantly lower in children. Wilms tumor is the most common form of childhood kidney cancer.

Folic acid is found naturally in dark leafy green vegetables. It is also found in legumes, citrus fruits, juices, and berries. Women who are pregnant, or are thinking of becoming pregnant should take 400 mcg of folic acid every day to prevent neural tube birth defects.

More from Dr. Dana: 10 Superfoods for your family

Neural tube birth defects include spina bifida and anencephaly. According to the FDA, more than 2500 infants are born with neural tube birth defects every year. Approximately half of these could be avoided with prenatal folic acid supplementation.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Washington University in St. Louis compared childhood cancer rates before and after the folic acid fortification mandate. The research was published online 5/21/2012 in Pediatrics.

More than 8000 children between 0 to 4 years of age were diagnosed with cancer between 1986 and 2008. The incidence of cancer rates for children remained unchanged before and after fortification, but the rates for the specific cancers listed above did decline.

We need more research to look closely at the relationship between the fortification of foods and how they specifically reduce cancer rates.

"We are what we eat." I share this message with my young patients every day. I remind them that they need a diet rich in dark green vegetables, lentils, beans, meat, fish and whole grains.

Michelle Obama is working hard to remind families about the importance of healthy eating with her Let's Move campaign. I truly believe this is her passion. It is not about politics, or about government. It is about helping families fight obesity, and about improving the overall health of our children.

The advice provided in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical diagnosis, advice or treatment for specific medical conditions

Sources: CDC, Pediatrics, Let's Move, NIH, HealthyChildren

Photo:Flickr/Fairy Heart ♥

Can sunscreen actually cause skin cancer?

Health experts have been wondering for a while just how effective sunscreens are at protecting the skin from harmful ultraviolet rays.

Now, some are wondering if chemicals in the lotions might actually cause cancer when they’re exposed to the sun over long periods.

Dr. Yinfa Ma, professor of chemistry at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and his graduate student Qingbo Yang, recently studied how human lung cells react when they are immersed in a solution containing zinc oxide, then exposed to different types of light over numerous time frames. Zinc oxide is the active ingredient found in many sunscreens.

What they found, Ma says, is that when zinc oxide’s nano-particles were exposed to sunlight, they released unstable molecules, called free radicals. Free radicals can damage cells or the DNA contained within those cells, which, in turn, could increase the risk of skin cancer.

They also found that the longer zinc oxide is exposed to sunlight, the greater the potential for damage to human cells. Specifically, they found that when the lung cells that had been immersed in the zinc oxide solution were exposed to ultraviolet A rays for three hours, half of them died. After 12 hours, 90 percent died.

Two weeks ago, Ma says, “we further confirmed our discovery when we traveled to Washington University and collaborated with researchers there using electron spin resonance.” The scientists, he said, found a much higher concentration of free radicals than in previous tests.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. The Skin Cancer Foundation estimates that one in five people will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime; more than 2 million people are diagnosed each year. Between 40 percent and 50 percent of Americans who live to age 65 will have it at least once.

Last year, after hearing concerns from health experts about the effectiveness of sunscreen, the Food and Drug Administration issued a statement that said, “to date, there are no clinical studies demonstrating that use of any sunscreen alone can prevent skin cancer.”

The FDA also issued new rules last year prohibiting sunscreen manufacturers from labeling their products as waterproof, sweat-proof or sun blocks. And sunscreens that are not broad spectrum or that have SPF values between 2 and 14 must be labeled with a warning that reads: “Skin Cancer/Skin Aging Alert: Spending time in the sun increases your risk of skin cancer and early skin aging. This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early skin aging.”

Several studies over the years have found that sunscreen, when used frequently, appears to lower the risk of squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, both non-melanoma cancers that are slow-growing and almost never lethal.

But the studies also found mixed results on whether sunscreen prevents melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer.

To fully protect yourself, health experts highly recommend using a multi-prong approach that includes using sunscreen, staying in the shade and wearing wide-brim hats and sun protective clothing over most of the body.

As for sunscreen actually causing cancer, Ma warns that you should not throw out that bottle just yet.

“These are very preliminary studies,” he said.

He’s applying for funding from the National Institutes of Health to perform similar studies using skin cells rather than lung cells.

It’s possible, he noted, that other chemicals in sunscreens minimize the cancer or absorb the free radicals, and he intends to look at that, too.

Can Aspirin, Other NSAIDs Lower Skin Cancer Risk?

Can Aspirin, Other NSAIDs Lower Skin Cancer Risk?

May 29, 2012 — Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen may help protect against certain types of skin cancer — including melanoma, the most dangerous form of this disease.

The new study hints at a possible link between NSAID use and skin cancer risk. It does not prove that a link exists or speak to how these medications may stave off skin cancer risk. Other studies have produced conflicting results. The findings appear online in the journal Cancer.

Researchers led by Sigrun Alba Johannesdottir of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark compared use of prescription NSAIDs among people with and without the three major types of skin cancer: basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma.

People who filled more than two NSAID prescriptions from 1991 through 2009 were 15% less likely to develop squamous cell skin cancer and 13% less likely to develop melanoma than people who filled two or fewer NSAID prescriptions during the study period. Researchers only looked at prescription NSAIDs, not over-the-counter forms.

No Safe Way to Tan

Use of NSAIDs did not affect overall risk for developing basal cell skin cancer. That said, they did reduce risk of basal cell skin cancer in body parts other than the head and neck that were not regularly exposed to the sun.

The findings make sense to Joshua Zeichner, MD. He is a dermatologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. “NSAIDs help lower inflammation in the body and reduce expression of COX-2, an enzyme involved in growth of cancers,” he says.

In fact, a topical NSAID, Solaraze Gel (diclofenac), is approved for pre-cancerous skin damage known as actinic keratoses.

Even if the findings are confirmed in future studies, NSAIDs should never take the place of other skin cancer prevention measures, including judicious use of sunscreen and wearing sun-protective clothing, says Zeichner. “The positive results from this study will hopefully pave the way for future research on NSAIDs and other ways to treat and prevent skin cancer,” he says.

But “there is no safe way to tan,” he says. “The only safe tan is the one you get from bottle of self-tanning cream.” Importantly, “if you protect yourself from the sun, you won’t need any preventive treatments.”

Julie Russak, MD, agrees. She is a dermatologist in New York City. NSAIDs are known to help treat painful sunburns, but they do confer their share of risks when used for long periods of time, including bleeding and heart risks.

“Sunburns cause inflammation that may lead to the development of skin cancer,” she says. “It is a parallel pathway.”

The best way to reduce skin cancer risk is to use sunscreen and avoid burns.

Early detection can also save lives. “See a doctor once a year for a skin exam, and if you notice any change in your moles, see a doctor.”

Colorectal Cancer is Preventable: Information for African Americans

BETHESDA, Md., May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
By the National Cancer Institute

Many people who fear cancer don’t realize that some types of cancer are preventable. Cancer of the colon or rectum (together referred to as colorectal cancer) is one of these. What’s more, colorectal cancer can often be treated effectively if it is found early enough.

Regrettably, African Americans (both men and women) are more likely than people of any other racial/ethnic group in the United States to develop colorectal cancer, and also to die from it. Nearly 17,000 African Americans will develop colorectal cancer this year. Only prostate, breast, and lung cancer kill more African Americans.

Doctors don’t know exactly why African Americans are harder hit with this disease, but they do know that many cases and deaths could be avoided if African Americans knew about–and followed–recommended strategies for prevention and early detection. Here are some things to keep in mind about colorectal cancer:

Colorectal Cancer and Precancers Can Be Detected Early

Most colorectal cancers develop from a certain type of polyp, called an adenoma. Polyps begin as small growths on the inner lining of the rectum or the colon. A number of different tests can be used to check if people have polyps or colorectal cancer. Polyps can often be detected by a colonoscopy, a sigmoidoscopy, or a fecal occult blood test, and then removed before they have a chance to develop into cancer. Some of the tests are done at your doctor’s office, and others are done at home using a kit that your doctor gives you.

Some polyps can grow and develop into cancer without any real symptoms. So, unless you are checked regularly for polyps, you could develop colorectal cancer that will be harder to treat by the time symptoms appear.

There are two ways to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer. One is to be sure that you undergo regular screening–and follow-up with effective diagnosis and treatment when screening finds a possible problem, such as large polyps or a cancer. The other is to know–and try to reduce–the risk factors for colorectal cancer that you have the power to change.

Talk To Your Doctor about Regular Screening

Colorectal cancer is more likely to occur as people get older. Many experts recommend that both men and women start getting screened beginning at age 50.

People should talk with their doctor about when to begin screening for colorectal cancer, what tests to have, the benefits and harms of each test, and how often to get screened. Common considerations include your age, your family’s history of colorectal cancer, the convenience of the test and the preparation required for it, your insurance coverage, and other factors.

Although some people may feel embarrassed about the idea of colorectal cancer screening and are worried about some of the procedures that are used, colorectal cancer screening decreases the risk of dying from colon cancer. So, it’s important to push past any reluctance and talk with your doctor to learn more.

Think about Changing Your Lifestyle–Even Just a Little

A number of studies show a link between certain “lifestyle factors” and people’s chances of getting colorectal cancer-and other cancers as well. People who drink three or more alcoholic beverages per day are at increased risk of colorectal cancer, as are people who are obese. Those who engage in regular physical activity have a lower risk. Daily aspirin also decreases risk, but it may cause intestinal bleeding and other side effects, and it’s important to find out from your doctor whether it is right for you.

Take time to learn as much as you can and share the information with people you love. The National Cancer Institute is a great resource for this information. See video.

NCI leads the National Cancer Program and the NIH effort to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI web site at
www.cancer.gov (or m.cancer.gov from your mobile device) or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). More articles and videos in the culturally relevant Lifelines series are available at
www.cancer.gov/lifelines .

Editor’s Note: The following article is part of the monthly Lifelines education and awareness print series that the National Cancer Institute provides to African American media outlets.

SOURCE National Cancer Institute

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

Ex-players testify B-12 shots readily available

WASHINGTON – Shots of energizing vitamin B-12 were readily available in the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse, a former catcher testified Wednesday, though he never saw pitching ace Roger Clemens actually use one.

Clemens has insisted he received shots of vitamin B-12 or the painkiller lidocaine from former strength coach Brian McNamee between 1998 and 2001 during his years with the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees. McNamee and prosecutors contend Clemens received banned anabolic steroids or human growth hormone – and then lied to Congress.

‘Ready to go’

In testimony for Clemens’ defense Wednesday, one-time catcher Charlie O’Brien recalled routinely seeing “four or five needles (of B-12) already lined up ready to go” for players in the Toronto Blue Jays’ clubhouse.

The shot “usually kind of peps you up a little bit,” said O’Brien, who played with eight teams over 19 years in professional baseball. “It felt like they did – I don’t know whether it was a mental thing or not.”

Former player Darrin Fletcher, a catcher in 1998 when Clemens joined the team, also testified that he never saw Clemens receive vitamin B-12 shots in the clubhouse, but he did contradict McNamee’s assertion that the trainer never talked about B-12 shots with Clemens or anybody else. Fletcher said McNamee privately suggested to him (Fletcher) in 1998 or 1999 that he take an injection of vitamin B-12 to give him “a little energy, maybe a little kick start to get going” in recovering from an injury.

Prosecutor Steve Durham tried to cast doubt on the accounts. Vitamin B-12 shots were usually pink or red liquid rather than the clear liquid that O’Brien recalled, Durham asserted.

“I think it was clear, I didn’t actually look at it,” testified O’Brien who played for eight teams during a 19-year career. “I would have been already turned over” to receive the injection.

Clemens defense attorney Rusty Hardin, seeking to bolster O’Brien’s credibility, asked if he ever saw multiple shots given players in succession that were “pre-loaded” and “lined up ready to go,” as Clemens has asserted?

O’Brien: “Yes sir.

Hardin: “You’re sure?”

O’Brien: “Positive.”

Prosecutors previously solicited testimony from Toronto Blue Jays’ trainer Tommy Craig and New York Yankees’ head trainer Gene Monahan that vitamin shots were never readily available to players as Clemens described – and never administered by coaches such as McNamee.

Fabricated account?

Clemens faces six felony counts of lying to Congress in sworn testimony in 2008 in which he denied using perfor mance-enhancing drugs.

The obstruction of Congress count stems in part from the star pitcher’s sworn statement to Congress that vitamin B-12 shots were so common in Toronto that players would come into the locker room after games to find “four or five needles already lined up ready to go.”

Prosecutors contend Clemens’ account was fabricated to cover up receipt of injections of performance-enhancing drugs injected by McNamee.

 

stewart.powell@chron.com

Time to Motivate - BE SPECIFIC... from The Reinvention Exchange

So you’ve been thinking, contemplating, ideating, saying you’re going to make that one little change or that huge leap, but it’s just noise in your head.

You haven’t quite had the motivation yet, but you’re certain it’s what you want to do. What’s stopping you? Is it fear? Are you over analyzing it?

Are you going to have to give up something in your comfort zone that you’re not prepared to do without, or are you simply too content in your comfort zone? All of these are legitimate reasons for not moving beyond your current state.

Now it’s time to consider the rewards and upside to pursuing your dreams… and BE SPECIFIC about what you can do to accomplish your goals.

If this a career related reinvention, consider if it’s the financial aspect, the work, the people, or the security you seek… what is holding you back from making that move?

If it’s trying to take on a new health and fitness regimen, is it starting a new exercise routine that will interfere with your current schedule? Is it a diet that requires giving up certain foods you love? Are you just not clear about what diet or exercise program is going to get you the results most efficiently?

Are you interested in taking up a new hobby but just haven’t figured out what it is? How do you tap into those passions and identify what is truly for you?

It’s human nature to have uncertainties get in our way and inhibit us from evolving. But reinventing yourself is completely reinvigorating and nurtures your soul.

BE SPECIFIC in the course you set. If you have any hope of accomplishing your goals, you really have to detail what you’re setting out to do and what steps you need to take to get there.

For example: You want to reinvent a piece of your life that will make you feel healthier and more in control of how you feel every day. You know you’re not getting any younger, so anything you can do to improve your health is a win-win. So this is your goal.

Now, write down the things that you can do EVERY day to improve your health — starting with the easy things to add to your life. BE SPECIFIC. It may be something like this:

1. Start taking vitamins — research and decide which ones
a. Go to the health food store, talk to the vitamin person and ask what’s best for you, your age and health conditions. Don’t forget to mention any other things you’re taking. Check with your doctor.
b. Put them in your bathroom or on your desk — somewhere you won’t forget to take them everyday.
c. If you have to, put a daily reminder on your calendar till it becomes a habit.

2. Add something new to your exercise regimen… or start one. If you haven’t been doing much, start with something attainable that you can do without a lot of cost or excuses. BE SPECIFIC:
a. Load up your iPod with music that you love and that moves you.
b. Commit to taking a walk three times a week (at minimum) or establish a new power work-out that is a step up from what you’ve been doing. Perhaps check out a new dance fitness class — Zumba is all the rage right now. Give it a shot — it’s a blast!
c. Put your walking or workout dates and times on your calendar — make an appointment with yourself.
d. Within a few weeks, add another level of activity — i.e. 50-100 sit ups four times a week.
Based on your fitness level and existing activities, you should make your own ambitious but attainable goals. Be realistic so you can achieve them and pat yourself on the back. The more you do this, the more motivated you will be to do more.

3. Food… stop eating “something” today — right now, pick one thing you won’t eat for the next three days — bread, pasta, sugar — you pick. What is the one thing you need to cut out? BE SPECIFIC and stick to it. It’s not forever, just a few days. When the mental and physical rewards show up, you’ll be more interested in doing it for longer.

4. Water — commit to drinking at least eight tall glasses of water a day.
a. Set the times you will drink them, don’t just leave it to a general commitment or you will get to the end of a day and realize you suddenly have to drink five glasses before bed!!!
b. Carry a bottle of water around with you — it’s your new best friend!

You deserve to pay attention to yourself and a little “project me” is a great reinvention project. If you feel good about yourself and what you can do for yourself, everything else you want to tackle will feel surmountable.

Now you can take this level of specificity and apply it to anything — picking up a new hobby that nurtures your soul, switching careers, redecorating your home, rejoining the work force, making a spiritual Reinvention…

Just BE SPECIFIC and give yourself the long term and short term road map — with that tool in hand, you will know how to get there, and you will!

Some great quotes to be inspired by:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”
- Aristotle

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”
Yogi Berra

“Nothing will work unless you do.”
- John Wooden

“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.”
- Sara Blakely

Reinventing your life can be exhilarating, rewarding and fun. Pick your fun and go for it!
Share your stories with us – we all learn so much from others. Visit us at www.TheReinventionExchange.com

Enjoy and Happy Reinventing!

Follow me on:
TWITTER: kathiSR, #HappyReinventing
Facebook: Kathi Sharpe-Ross
www.TheReinventionExchange.com

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www.twitter.com/KathiSR

Pumpkin seeds, honey boost your libido

By Vision Reporter

B vitamins may reduce stroke risk: Meta-analysis - NutraIngredients

Despite the positive link to stroke risk, data from 19 randomized controlled trials involving 47,921 participants suggested no benefits for B vitamin supplementation on the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease or heart attack.

The meta-analysis represents the "most recent information available on the associations between B vitamins supplementations and risk of CVD", said researchers from Zhejiang University in China, the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan, and Monash University in Australia.

Controversy

The potential role of B vitamins in heart health, by reducing levels of the amino acid homocysteine reported to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, is controversial.

Epidemiological studies have linked increased blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It has been suggested that by lowering the levels of homocysteine in the blood with B-vitamins, people could cut the risk of CVD.

However, clinical trials including participants at risk of, or already suffering from, cardiovascular disease have produced null results, with some experts arguing that short term B vitamin supplementation should not be expected to reverse the long-term development of heart disease.

In 2009 a prestigious Cochrane review concluded in that supplements of B6, B12 or folate do not affect cardiovascular health, despite lowering homocysteine levels. The review included data from eight randomized controlled trials equivalent to 24,210 participants.

New data

While the new meta-analysis agrees that B vitamins did not affect the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease or heart attack, it does challenge the conclusions regarding stroke risk.

Nineteen studies provided data obtained from intervention and follow-up periods ranging from 6 to 85 months, and doses of folic acid with or without vitamins B6 and B12.

Results showed that B vitamin supplementation was associated with significant reductions in homocysteine levels, and a 12% reduction in the risk of stroke, compared with placebo, but no differences were observed for other cardiovascular outcomes.

"The discrepancies between the RCTs of B vitamins supplementation for the prevention of CVD may have various explanations," said the researchers.

"First, it is possible that populations without folate deficiency may not benefit from folic acid supplementation

"Second, RCTs may not avoid residual confounding. Different personal behaviors may modify the effects of dietary intake or supplement use on vascular disease. Then, the duration of follow-up and sample size may also contribute to differences between clinical trials.

"Third, trials to date have examined the effects of B vitamin supplementation for secondary prevention only."

Source: Clinical Nutrition

Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2011.01.003
"Meta-analysis of B vitamin supplementation on plasma homocysteine, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality"
Authors: T. Huang, Y. Chen, B. Yang, J. Yang, M.L. Wahlqvist, D. Li

Global cancer cases to rise 75% by 2030 as developing countries adopt bad ...

Cancers that are caused by infections, such as cervical cancer and some liver and stomach cancers, are falling. But experts say that decline will be outpaced by a surge in cancers linked to bad diet and exercise habits, smoking and drinking too much alcohol, such as cancers of the lung, colon and breast.

Researchers estimate that by 2030, the number of people affected by cancer in some of the poorest countries will increase by more than 90 percent. Previous health initiatives to save people from dying of infectious diseases such as malaria or AIDS also mean they are living long enough to develop cancer, which is normally associated with aging.

Experts said developing countries should learn from what's happened in the West to avoid making similar mistakes.

"There's no need for the lung cancer burden in the West to be transferred to developing countries," said John Groopman of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. He was not linked to the study.

He said health officials need to act now to avoid the future crush of cancer cases. "It's a misconception that nothing can be done," Groopman said. "If we employed cervical cancer screening and the vaccine (to prevent it), we could eliminate cervical cancer in this century," he said.

The research was done by scientists at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and the American Cancer Society. Freddie Bray, an IARC researcher who headed the study, described cancer as "a byproduct" of countries having increased education, income and longevity. The paper was published Friday in the journal Lancet Oncology.

Bray and colleagues estimated there would be 22.2 million new cancer cases in 184 countries by 2030, based on recent cancer trends and demographic projections from the United Nations. That's up from an estimated 12.7 million cases in 2008. Bray acknowledged there were some uncertainties in the data, since cancer registries in Africa, Asia and Latin America covered less than 10 percent of the population.

In most developing countries, people are more often struck by infection-caused cancers. But in the future they will be battling not only those cancers, but also ones linked to lifestyle factors such as those of the lung, breast and colon.

Bray predicted current smoking rates in China would mean a spike in lung cancer cases in the next few decades, and he pointed out countries such as Uganda that already are facing a "double whammy" of cancer, both from infections and those cancers usually seen in the West.

Other experts said because cancer is such an expensive disease to treat, poor countries need to focus on prevention.

"Even developed countries can't afford to pay for some of the newer, targeted cancer treatments," said Raghib Ali, a cancer expert at Oxford University.

Ali said it might be possible to avoid one-third to one-half of future cancers by persuading people everywhere to eat healthier, quit smoking and exercise. "Unfortunately, these are a lot of the things that people don't want to do," he said.

___

Online:

www.lancet.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

B vitamins may reduce stroke risk: Meta-analysis - NutraIngredients

Despite the positive link to stroke risk, data from 19 randomized controlled trials involving 47,921 participants suggested no benefits for B vitamin supplementation on the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease or heart attack.

The meta-analysis represents the "most recent information available on the associations between B vitamins supplementations and risk of CVD", said researchers from Zhejiang University in China, the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan, and Monash University in Australia.

Controversy

The potential role of B vitamins in heart health, by reducing levels of the amino acid homocysteine reported to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, is controversial.

Epidemiological studies have linked increased blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It has been suggested that by lowering the levels of homocysteine in the blood with B-vitamins, people could cut the risk of CVD.

However, clinical trials including participants at risk of, or already suffering from, cardiovascular disease have produced null results, with some experts arguing that short term B vitamin supplementation should not be expected to reverse the long-term development of heart disease.

In 2009 a prestigious Cochrane review concluded in that supplements of B6, B12 or folate do not affect cardiovascular health, despite lowering homocysteine levels. The review included data from eight randomized controlled trials equivalent to 24,210 participants.

New data

While the new meta-analysis agrees that B vitamins did not affect the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease or heart attack, it does challenge the conclusions regarding stroke risk.

Nineteen studies provided data obtained from intervention and follow-up periods ranging from 6 to 85 months, and doses of folic acid with or without vitamins B6 and B12.

Results showed that B vitamin supplementation was associated with significant reductions in homocysteine levels, and a 12% reduction in the risk of stroke, compared with placebo, but no differences were observed for other cardiovascular outcomes.

"The discrepancies between the RCTs of B vitamins supplementation for the prevention of CVD may have various explanations," said the researchers.

"First, it is possible that populations without folate deficiency may not benefit from folic acid supplementation

"Second, RCTs may not avoid residual confounding. Different personal behaviors may modify the effects of dietary intake or supplement use on vascular disease. Then, the duration of follow-up and sample size may also contribute to differences between clinical trials.

"Third, trials to date have examined the effects of B vitamin supplementation for secondary prevention only."

Source: Clinical Nutrition

Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2011.01.003
"Meta-analysis of B vitamin supplementation on plasma homocysteine, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality"
Authors: T. Huang, Y. Chen, B. Yang, J. Yang, M.L. Wahlqvist, D. Li

New Findings on Astronaut Vision Loss

Could vision changes experienced by astronauts be linked to a vitamin B-12 or folate deficiency? While investigating the vision changes recently identified in astronauts, nutritional assessment data showed similarities to symptoms that occur with vitamin deficiencies, according to a new study published in the March edition of The Journal of Nutrition.

Approximately 20 percent of astronauts living on the International Space Station have reported post-flight vision changes. Previous research, published in the October 2011 issue of Ophthalmology, identified a possible link between the reported vision changes and increased intracranial pressure caused by shifts in bodily fluids from the lower extremities to the upper part if the body, due to microgravity.

This may still be part of the problem, but the new study shows there may be other contributing factors. The findings may provide evidence to help understand why some crew members suffer vision-related problems, while others do not.

The nutrition study included 20 astronauts, with 5 experiencing vision or eye anatomy changes. The investigation collected data from crew urine and blood samples taken before spaceflight, while living aboard the station, and after returning to Earth. The samples taken while living in orbit were kept in the station’s Minus-Eighty Degree Freezer, or MELFI, and returned to the ground for analysis.

Comparing the blood analysis with nutritional assessments revealed that crew members experiencing vision changes had consistently lower folate levels and higher levels of metabolites. The comparison suggests the vision changes may be due in part to what’s called a “dependent one-carbon metabolic pathway” change.

All About the 1C Pathway

Let’s break this down: The human body is like a machine, with many chemical processes taking place to keep cells functioning, which in turn keep the body functioning. These chemical processes use specific pathways to do their job. Everyone has these pathways.

The one-carbon pathway is part of the chemical process the body uses to make DNA, or genetic instructions. The pathways are similar to an assembly line in a factory. If the pathway is not working properly, it gets behind or backs up. This is what happens if there is a vitamin deficiency. Since astronauts participate in dietary and nutritional assessments, researchers were able to rule out common vitamin and nutritional deficiencies.

Enzymes are the workers on the assembly line, and can have different forms – little changes or variations that occur – between individuals. These multiple forms are known as polymorphisms.

As humans evolve, tiny changes in DNA occur resulting in multiple forms of enzymes. A good example of polymorphisms is blood types – though blood is blood, there are differences that account for a variety of blood types. Lactose intolerance is another example of polymorphisms in the human body.

Vision Changes

With nutritional deficiencies ruled out, researchers began considering the possibility that polymorphisms, which may be part of the one-carbon pathway, could be causing the vision changes.

Since the folate and metabolite variances in the affected astronauts were seen preflight, there are several theories. These individuals may be more prone to microgravity-induced fluid shifts. They may be affected by small changes in the station’s cabin carbon dioxide levels, which are slightly higher than those on Earth. Even small changes in the cabin air mix could increase intracranial pressure. On the other hand, other astronauts exposed to higher carbon dioxide levels did not have vision changes.

In Earth-based studies, the enzyme differences that slow down the pathway causing the backup have been linked to a greater occurrence of migraine headaches and strokes. These types of conditions can be related to increased intracranial pressure.

Results from this investigation also could provide advancements in understanding and treating retinal vascular and optic nerve disorders and diseases on Earth.

“While these results are very exciting, they are preliminary,” said Scott Smith, a nutritionist and one of the authors of the recent study from NASA’s Johnson Space Center’s Nutritional Biochemistry Lab. “The next step is to directly test for the presence of enzyme polymorphisms to verify whether this relates to the vision changes.”

“We clearly have identified a piece of the vision puzzle,” Smith said. “We now need to go another step forward to assess whether it is a small piece among many others, or a large piece that is a primary cause of this problem. Not only may the results have significant implications for NASA and future astronauts, but the implications for the general population could be profound.”

Additional research to expand understanding of how life in space affects astronaut vision is planned, and NASA recently selected eight investigations as part of a broader suite of astronaut health research.

This report was published in the March edition of The Journal of Nutrition.

Global cancer cases to rise 75% by 2030 as developing countries adopt bad ...

Cancers that are caused by infections, such as cervical cancer and some liver and stomach cancers, are falling. But experts say that decline will be outpaced by a surge in cancers linked to bad diet and exercise habits, smoking and drinking too much alcohol, such as cancers of the lung, colon and breast.

Researchers estimate that by 2030, the number of people affected by cancer in some of the poorest countries will increase by more than 90 percent. Previous health initiatives to save people from dying of infectious diseases such as malaria or AIDS also mean they are living long enough to develop cancer, which is normally associated with aging.

Experts said developing countries should learn from what's happened in the West to avoid making similar mistakes.

"There's no need for the lung cancer burden in the West to be transferred to developing countries," said John Groopman of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. He was not linked to the study.

He said health officials need to act now to avoid the future crush of cancer cases. "It's a misconception that nothing can be done," Groopman said. "If we employed cervical cancer screening and the vaccine (to prevent it), we could eliminate cervical cancer in this century," he said.

The research was done by scientists at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and the American Cancer Society. Freddie Bray, an IARC researcher who headed the study, described cancer as "a byproduct" of countries having increased education, income and longevity. The paper was published Friday in the journal Lancet Oncology.

Bray and colleagues estimated there would be 22.2 million new cancer cases in 184 countries by 2030, based on recent cancer trends and demographic projections from the United Nations. That's up from an estimated 12.7 million cases in 2008. Bray acknowledged there were some uncertainties in the data, since cancer registries in Africa, Asia and Latin America covered less than 10 percent of the population.

In most developing countries, people are more often struck by infection-caused cancers. But in the future they will be battling not only those cancers, but also ones linked to lifestyle factors such as those of the lung, breast and colon.

Bray predicted current smoking rates in China would mean a spike in lung cancer cases in the next few decades, and he pointed out countries such as Uganda that already are facing a "double whammy" of cancer, both from infections and those cancers usually seen in the West.

Other experts said because cancer is such an expensive disease to treat, poor countries need to focus on prevention.

"Even developed countries can't afford to pay for some of the newer, targeted cancer treatments," said Raghib Ali, a cancer expert at Oxford University.

Ali said it might be possible to avoid one-third to one-half of future cancers by persuading people everywhere to eat healthier, quit smoking and exercise. "Unfortunately, these are a lot of the things that people don't want to do," he said.

___

Online:

www.lancet.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

What vitamin can decrease childhood cancers?

In 1996, the Food and Drug Administration mandated that foods be fortified with folic acid. Foods fortified with folic acid include enriched breads, pastas, rice, flour, cereals and other grain products. Folic acid is a B-complex vitamin needed by the body to manufacture red blood cells.

After fortifying foods with folic acid, the incidence of Wilms tumor, primitive neuroectodermal tumors, and ependymomas was significantly lower in children. Wilms tumor is the most common form of childhood kidney cancer.

Folic acid is found naturally in dark leafy green vegetables. It is also found in legumes, citrus fruits, juices, and berries. Women who are pregnant, or are thinking of becoming pregnant should take 400 mcg of folic acid every day to prevent neural tube birth defects.

More from Dr. Dana: 10 Superfoods for your family

Neural tube birth defects include spina bifida and anencephaly. According to the FDA, more than 2500 infants are born with neural tube birth defects every year. Approximately half of these could be avoided with prenatal folic acid supplementation.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Washington University in St. Louis compared childhood cancer rates before and after the folic acid fortification mandate. The research was published online 5/21/2012 in Pediatrics.

More than 8000 children between 0 to 4 years of age were diagnosed with cancer between 1986 and 2008. The incidence of cancer rates for children remained unchanged before and after fortification, but the rates for the specific cancers listed above did decline.

We need more research to look closely at the relationship between the fortification of foods and how they specifically reduce cancer rates.

"We are what we eat." I share this message with my young patients every day. I remind them that they need a diet rich in dark green vegetables, lentils, beans, meat, fish and whole grains.

Michelle Obama is working hard to remind families about the importance of healthy eating with her Let's Move campaign. I truly believe this is her passion. It is not about politics, or about government. It is about helping families fight obesity, and about improving the overall health of our children.

The advice provided in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical diagnosis, advice or treatment for specific medical conditions

Sources: CDC, Pediatrics, Let's Move, NIH, HealthyChildren

Photo:Flickr/Fairy Heart ♥

Time to Motivate - BE SPECIFIC... from The Reinvention Exchange

So you’ve been thinking, contemplating, ideating, saying you’re going to make that one little change or that huge leap, but it’s just noise in your head.

You haven’t quite had the motivation yet, but you’re certain it’s what you want to do. What’s stopping you? Is it fear? Are you over analyzing it?

Are you going to have to give up something in your comfort zone that you’re not prepared to do without, or are you simply too content in your comfort zone? All of these are legitimate reasons for not moving beyond your current state.

Now it’s time to consider the rewards and upside to pursuing your dreams… and BE SPECIFIC about what you can do to accomplish your goals.

If this a career related reinvention, consider if it’s the financial aspect, the work, the people, or the security you seek… what is holding you back from making that move?

If it’s trying to take on a new health and fitness regimen, is it starting a new exercise routine that will interfere with your current schedule? Is it a diet that requires giving up certain foods you love? Are you just not clear about what diet or exercise program is going to get you the results most efficiently?

Are you interested in taking up a new hobby but just haven’t figured out what it is? How do you tap into those passions and identify what is truly for you?

It’s human nature to have uncertainties get in our way and inhibit us from evolving. But reinventing yourself is completely reinvigorating and nurtures your soul.

BE SPECIFIC in the course you set. If you have any hope of accomplishing your goals, you really have to detail what you’re setting out to do and what steps you need to take to get there.

For example: You want to reinvent a piece of your life that will make you feel healthier and more in control of how you feel every day. You know you’re not getting any younger, so anything you can do to improve your health is a win-win. So this is your goal.

Now, write down the things that you can do EVERY day to improve your health — starting with the easy things to add to your life. BE SPECIFIC. It may be something like this:

1. Start taking vitamins — research and decide which ones
a. Go to the health food store, talk to the vitamin person and ask what’s best for you, your age and health conditions. Don’t forget to mention any other things you’re taking. Check with your doctor.
b. Put them in your bathroom or on your desk — somewhere you won’t forget to take them everyday.
c. If you have to, put a daily reminder on your calendar till it becomes a habit.

2. Add something new to your exercise regimen… or start one. If you haven’t been doing much, start with something attainable that you can do without a lot of cost or excuses. BE SPECIFIC:
a. Load up your iPod with music that you love and that moves you.
b. Commit to taking a walk three times a week (at minimum) or establish a new power work-out that is a step up from what you’ve been doing. Perhaps check out a new dance fitness class — Zumba is all the rage right now. Give it a shot — it’s a blast!
c. Put your walking or workout dates and times on your calendar — make an appointment with yourself.
d. Within a few weeks, add another level of activity — i.e. 50-100 sit ups four times a week.
Based on your fitness level and existing activities, you should make your own ambitious but attainable goals. Be realistic so you can achieve them and pat yourself on the back. The more you do this, the more motivated you will be to do more.

3. Food… stop eating “something” today — right now, pick one thing you won’t eat for the next three days — bread, pasta, sugar — you pick. What is the one thing you need to cut out? BE SPECIFIC and stick to it. It’s not forever, just a few days. When the mental and physical rewards show up, you’ll be more interested in doing it for longer.

4. Water — commit to drinking at least eight tall glasses of water a day.
a. Set the times you will drink them, don’t just leave it to a general commitment or you will get to the end of a day and realize you suddenly have to drink five glasses before bed!!!
b. Carry a bottle of water around with you — it’s your new best friend!

You deserve to pay attention to yourself and a little “project me” is a great reinvention project. If you feel good about yourself and what you can do for yourself, everything else you want to tackle will feel surmountable.

Now you can take this level of specificity and apply it to anything — picking up a new hobby that nurtures your soul, switching careers, redecorating your home, rejoining the work force, making a spiritual Reinvention…

Just BE SPECIFIC and give yourself the long term and short term road map — with that tool in hand, you will know how to get there, and you will!

Some great quotes to be inspired by:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”
- Aristotle

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”
Yogi Berra

“Nothing will work unless you do.”
- John Wooden

“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.”
- Sara Blakely

Reinventing your life can be exhilarating, rewarding and fun. Pick your fun and go for it!
Share your stories with us – we all learn so much from others. Visit us at www.TheReinventionExchange.com

Enjoy and Happy Reinventing!

Follow me on:
TWITTER: kathiSR, #HappyReinventing
Facebook: Kathi Sharpe-Ross
www.TheReinventionExchange.com

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www.twitter.com/KathiSR

Ex-players testify B-12 shots readily available

WASHINGTON – Shots of energizing vitamin B-12 were readily available in the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse, a former catcher testified Wednesday, though he never saw pitching ace Roger Clemens actually use one.

Clemens has insisted he received shots of vitamin B-12 or the painkiller lidocaine from former strength coach Brian McNamee between 1998 and 2001 during his years with the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees. McNamee and prosecutors contend Clemens received banned anabolic steroids or human growth hormone – and then lied to Congress.

‘Ready to go’

In testimony for Clemens’ defense Wednesday, one-time catcher Charlie O’Brien recalled routinely seeing “four or five needles (of B-12) already lined up ready to go” for players in the Toronto Blue Jays’ clubhouse.

The shot “usually kind of peps you up a little bit,” said O’Brien, who played with eight teams over 19 years in professional baseball. “It felt like they did – I don’t know whether it was a mental thing or not.”

Former player Darrin Fletcher, a catcher in 1998 when Clemens joined the team, also testified that he never saw Clemens receive vitamin B-12 shots in the clubhouse, but he did contradict McNamee’s assertion that the trainer never talked about B-12 shots with Clemens or anybody else. Fletcher said McNamee privately suggested to him (Fletcher) in 1998 or 1999 that he take an injection of vitamin B-12 to give him “a little energy, maybe a little kick start to get going” in recovering from an injury.

Prosecutor Steve Durham tried to cast doubt on the accounts. Vitamin B-12 shots were usually pink or red liquid rather than the clear liquid that O’Brien recalled, Durham asserted.

“I think it was clear, I didn’t actually look at it,” testified O’Brien who played for eight teams during a 19-year career. “I would have been already turned over” to receive the injection.

Clemens defense attorney Rusty Hardin, seeking to bolster O’Brien’s credibility, asked if he ever saw multiple shots given players in succession that were “pre-loaded” and “lined up ready to go,” as Clemens has asserted?

O’Brien: “Yes sir.

Hardin: “You’re sure?”

O’Brien: “Positive.”

Prosecutors previously solicited testimony from Toronto Blue Jays’ trainer Tommy Craig and New York Yankees’ head trainer Gene Monahan that vitamin shots were never readily available to players as Clemens described – and never administered by coaches such as McNamee.

Fabricated account?

Clemens faces six felony counts of lying to Congress in sworn testimony in 2008 in which he denied using perfor mance-enhancing drugs.

The obstruction of Congress count stems in part from the star pitcher’s sworn statement to Congress that vitamin B-12 shots were so common in Toronto that players would come into the locker room after games to find “four or five needles already lined up ready to go.”

Prosecutors contend Clemens’ account was fabricated to cover up receipt of injections of performance-enhancing drugs injected by McNamee.

 

stewart.powell@chron.com

New Findings on Astronaut Vision Loss

Could vision changes experienced by astronauts be linked to a vitamin B-12 or folate deficiency? While investigating the vision changes recently identified in astronauts, nutritional assessment data showed similarities to symptoms that occur with vitamin deficiencies, according to a new study published in the March edition of The Journal of Nutrition.

Approximately 20 percent of astronauts living on the International Space Station have reported post-flight vision changes. Previous research, published in the October 2011 issue of Ophthalmology, identified a possible link between the reported vision changes and increased intracranial pressure caused by shifts in bodily fluids from the lower extremities to the upper part if the body, due to microgravity.

This may still be part of the problem, but the new study shows there may be other contributing factors. The findings may provide evidence to help understand why some crew members suffer vision-related problems, while others do not.

The nutrition study included 20 astronauts, with 5 experiencing vision or eye anatomy changes. The investigation collected data from crew urine and blood samples taken before spaceflight, while living aboard the station, and after returning to Earth. The samples taken while living in orbit were kept in the station’s Minus-Eighty Degree Freezer, or MELFI, and returned to the ground for analysis.

Comparing the blood analysis with nutritional assessments revealed that crew members experiencing vision changes had consistently lower folate levels and higher levels of metabolites. The comparison suggests the vision changes may be due in part to what’s called a “dependent one-carbon metabolic pathway” change.

All About the 1C Pathway

Let’s break this down: The human body is like a machine, with many chemical processes taking place to keep cells functioning, which in turn keep the body functioning. These chemical processes use specific pathways to do their job. Everyone has these pathways.

The one-carbon pathway is part of the chemical process the body uses to make DNA, or genetic instructions. The pathways are similar to an assembly line in a factory. If the pathway is not working properly, it gets behind or backs up. This is what happens if there is a vitamin deficiency. Since astronauts participate in dietary and nutritional assessments, researchers were able to rule out common vitamin and nutritional deficiencies.

Enzymes are the workers on the assembly line, and can have different forms – little changes or variations that occur – between individuals. These multiple forms are known as polymorphisms.

As humans evolve, tiny changes in DNA occur resulting in multiple forms of enzymes. A good example of polymorphisms is blood types – though blood is blood, there are differences that account for a variety of blood types. Lactose intolerance is another example of polymorphisms in the human body.

Vision Changes

With nutritional deficiencies ruled out, researchers began considering the possibility that polymorphisms, which may be part of the one-carbon pathway, could be causing the vision changes.

Since the folate and metabolite variances in the affected astronauts were seen preflight, there are several theories. These individuals may be more prone to microgravity-induced fluid shifts. They may be affected by small changes in the station’s cabin carbon dioxide levels, which are slightly higher than those on Earth. Even small changes in the cabin air mix could increase intracranial pressure. On the other hand, other astronauts exposed to higher carbon dioxide levels did not have vision changes.

In Earth-based studies, the enzyme differences that slow down the pathway causing the backup have been linked to a greater occurrence of migraine headaches and strokes. These types of conditions can be related to increased intracranial pressure.

Results from this investigation also could provide advancements in understanding and treating retinal vascular and optic nerve disorders and diseases on Earth.

“While these results are very exciting, they are preliminary,” said Scott Smith, a nutritionist and one of the authors of the recent study from NASA’s Johnson Space Center’s Nutritional Biochemistry Lab. “The next step is to directly test for the presence of enzyme polymorphisms to verify whether this relates to the vision changes.”

“We clearly have identified a piece of the vision puzzle,” Smith said. “We now need to go another step forward to assess whether it is a small piece among many others, or a large piece that is a primary cause of this problem. Not only may the results have significant implications for NASA and future astronauts, but the implications for the general population could be profound.”

Additional research to expand understanding of how life in space affects astronaut vision is planned, and NASA recently selected eight investigations as part of a broader suite of astronaut health research.

This report was published in the March edition of The Journal of Nutrition.

Smoking hasten cardiac problems, cancer in youngsters (May 31 is World No ...

New Delhi, May 30 — Abhishek Shetty led the typical life of a young employee in an IT company. A regular smoker, the 32-year-old had a hectic schedule, odd sleeping hours and irregular meals – all of which caught up with him, and he suffered a heart attack at what his doctor called a “shockingly young age”.

“Five years back such cases were unheard of. But increasingly, we have young people coming to us with cardiac problems. It’s a serious problem and smoking is a major factor,” Ravindra L. Kulkarni, cardiologist and director of Just for Hearts, an organisation for heart care, told IANS.

“Abhishek’s is a case in point. A study of his case revealed that he led a very stressful life, thanks to the nature of his work. To add to that, he smoked regularly to relieve his stress. Ultimately he had a cardiac arrest,” Kulkarni added.

An angiography revealed a blockage in one of Shetty’s main arteries, for which an angioplasty had to be done. He has now changed his lifestyle completely.

Cardiac ailments have become an increasingly common feature among people as young as in their late 20s and early 30s, and smoking is found to be one of the main contributing factors.

“Health problems that you would have normally seen in people in their sixties – like those related to the heart or lungs – you see them in young people in the age group of 30-35 these days. It’s an unhealthy trend, to say the least,” said Suchetna Das, a cardiologist.

According to Kulkarni, in the past few years there has been a 30-40 percent rise in cardiac related ailments amongst those below the age of 40. Among his patients, 30-40 percent are heavy smokers.

A number of young patients are those in high-stress and sedentary lifestyle jobs, like in BPOs and the IT sector.

Studies reveal that peer pressure and curiosity are the two most common reasons for a person to take up smoking. Most smokers also claim their regular dose of puff is a stress relaxant.

“A number of young women also take up smoking to reduce weight. The idea is that nicotine affects the appetite… you don’t feel hungry, eat less and thus lose weight. Not only is it an unhealthy way to reduce weight, but also you hardly realise when the trick becomes an addiction,” Das said.

Doctors say that most ailments begin with high blood pressure (BP).

There has been a 20-25 percent rise among youngsters complaining of high blood pressure. So, if you are young and suddenly witness high BP, it may be wise to see your doctor, said Kulkarni.

Some of the common health problems that young people are being detected with are coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes and high blood pressure.

Not just that. Oncologists reveal that there has been a rise in cancer cases as well because of increased tobacco usage.

“Cancer, like throat cancer, among youngsters is on the rise. And exposure to tobacco in various forms is the main culprit behind this trend,” Amol Akhade, consultant oncologist at International Oncology Services, told IANS.

Sharing a smoke in hip hookah joints which are mushrooming in cities like Delhi, is another popular lifestyle trend that is simply adding to the problem, Akhade said.

“The trend of smoking hookah is adding to the risk (of cancer) and both men and women are equally at risk,” he added.

Besides strict implementation of the law that bans smoking in public places, doctors also suggest initiation of Workplace Health Promotion Programmes.

“Companies should take up the responsibility of making their employees aware of a healthy lifestyle and about the ill effects of smoking. Ultimately, a healthy, young workforce works for the best for the company,” Kulkarni said.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco usage kills at least five million people every year.

(Azera Parveen Rahman can be contacted at azera.rahman@gmail.com)

IANS

This article was distributed through the NewsCred Smartwire.

Original article © IANS / Daily News 2012

Scientists unveil extensive child cancer research data

30 May 2012
Last updated at 02:48 ET

By Emily Selvadurai
Health reporter, BBC News online

Sharing research information has led to new ways of diagnosing and treating certain cancers

US scientists have released the world’s largest collection of genetic data on childhood cancers in a bid to speed up treatment discoveries.

The US Pediatric Cancer Genome Project has mapped the entire genome – all the DNA – of 260 young cancer patients.

By finding differences between each youngster’s normal and cancerous cells, scientists have pinpointed causes of some of the most deadly child cancers.

They hope by sharing their work others will be able to make new breakthroughs.

Genetic blueprint

The work, published in the journal Nature Genetics, has already revealed a new treatment for a rare form of eye cancer known as retinoblastoma.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We have identified unusual, ‘cryptic’ changes in many patients’ cancer cells that we would have not found using other methods"

End Quote
Dr Richard Wilson
Washington University School of Medicine

The project – a collaboration launched in 2010 by St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine – with help from private investors, has also yielded significant insights into aggressive childhood cancers of the brainstem and blood.

Dr Richard Wilson, head of the Genome Institute at Washington University School of Medicine, said: “We have identified unusual, ‘cryptic’ changes in many patients’ cancer cells that we would not have found using other methods.

“We are pleased to be able to share this data with the research community in the hope that others can build upon our initial discoveries.”

Josephine Querido, of Cancer Research UK, said the work was “hugely important”.

“This study in childhood cancer is part of a global effort to catalogue the gene faults that drive many different cancers,” she said.

Cancer Research UK recently launched two similar projects as part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium, looking for genetic mistakes in hundreds of prostate and oesophageal cancers in adults.

David Adams, head of experimental cancer genetics at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: “This unprecedented dataset release by St Jude’s details the landscape of paediatric cancer genome, telling us that cancers that develop in children can be very different to those that develop in adults.

“This is an important lesson to remember. And it is marked by this important gift to cancer research.”

Childhood cancer is rare – around 1,500 new cases are diagnosed every year in the UK.

Researchers worldwide will be able to access the data at the The European Genome-phenome Archive website.

Can Antioxidants Really Improve Your Health?

CREDIT: Fruits vegetables photo via Shutterstock

“The Healthy Geezer” answers questions about health and aging in his weekly column.

Question: What are antioxidants and how do they contribute to good health?

Answer: As you process food, you make substances called “free radicals,” which are believed to contribute to aging and certain diseases. To neutralize free radicals, your body uses antioxidants that come from your food. Proponents believe that antioxidants can prevent chronic diseases.

The following are some antioxidants: vitamin A, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, folic acid and selenium.

The best way to give your body the antioxidants it needs is to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. There’s no proof that antioxidants in pill form can improve your general health or extend your life.

Talk to your doctor before taking any supplement. Ingredients in supplements can cause harmful interactions with your medications and serious side effects.

In addition to eating a varied diet, try the following for attaining good health:

• Maintain a healthy weight
• Exercise daily
• Go to the doctor when you’re sick
• Go to the doctor when you’re well to get screened for disease.
• Don’t smoke
• Use sunscreen
• Stay close to your friends and family

If you would like to read more columns, you can order a copy of “How to be a Healthy Geezer” at http://www.healthygeezer.com.

All rights reserved © 2012 by Fred Cicetti

Bristol Drug Seen Helping Body Attack Lung Cancer: Health

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) (BMY) is making
progress developing a new drug to assist the body's immune
system in its ability to find and attack cancer cells. The drug
may prove especially effective fighting lung cancer.

Bristol-Myers, the farthest along of at least five
companies pushing ahead with this cancer-targeting approach,
received U.S. approval in March 2011 on a drug that attacks
melanoma by unleashing the body's T-cells to fend off the
cancer. Now, early tests on a Bristol-Myers therapy affecting a
different immune-system lever is showing promise against
advanced lung tumors, tied to more than a quarter of U.S. cancer
deaths yearly, as well as other deadly malignancies.

"This could be a breakthrough for lung cancer," said
Julie Brahmer, an oncologist at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer
Center in Baltimore.

In an initial trial of 240 patients, the Bristol-Myers
drug, known as BMS-936558, shrunk tumors in 24 of 95 melanoma
patients, 10 of 33 people with kidney cancer and 13 of 75 of
those with advanced lung cancer, according to preliminary
information on the data, gathered in the first phase of tests
usually needed for regulatory approval.

If the result holds up in further trials, the therapy may
become a "backbone" for future combination treatments that
attack cancer by weakening it with chemotherapy while
simultaneously unleashing an immune system assault, said Seamus Fernandez, an analyst at Leerink Swann Co. in Boston. In this
case, Bristol-Myers's drug may reap more than $4 billion a year
in sales, he said.

Final-Stage Trials

"It is the early stage of a whole new field of cancer
therapy," Fernandez said in a telephone interview.

Bristol-Myers rose less than 1 percent to $33.35 at 9:37
a.m. New York time. The shares had declined 5.4 percent this
year before today.

The drugmaker, based in New York, is competing with Merck
Co. (MRK) (MRK) of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, London-based
GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK), Roche Holding AG, of Basel, Switzerland,
and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) in Petach Tikva, Israel,
to test the idea in patients. Updated data on Bristol's
experimental compound will be reviewed at the American Society
of Clinical Oncology meeting that starts June 1 in Chicago.

The preliminary results are promising enough that Bristol-
Myers plans to move directly into final-stage human trials in
lung cancer, melanoma, and kidney cancer, skipping the second of
three phases of drug development. The lung and kidney trials are
slated to start this year, and the melanoma trial by early 2013,
Sarah Koenig, a company spokeswoman, said.

'A Turning Point'

"After many years of negative studies, the idea of
reactivating the immune system against cancer seems to be paying
off," Roy Herbst, chief of medical oncology at the Yale Cancer
Center in New Haven, Connecticut, said by telephone. "It is a
turning point in the way we approach this disease."

It will take years of testing before researchers know for
sure whether the drugs, led by Bristol-Myers's product,
represents a real breakthrough or yet another hoped-for cancer
cure that fizzles in large trials.

Still, oncologists are particularly enthusiastic about the
potential of Bristol-Myers's drug to treat lung cancer, which
hits 226,000 Americans each year, killing about 160,000 of them,
according to the American Cancer Society.

Patients with advanced lung cancer who fail to respond to
chemotherapy often die within six to nine months. The potential
ability to produce "prolonged responses" that aren't seen with
other drugs makes it "the most exciting class of drugs right
now," said Scott Gettinger, a Yale Cancer Center lung cancer
specialist who is testing the drug. He wouldn't comment on the
updated data until it is presented at the cancer meeting.

Patient Response

David Gobin, a 62-year-old retired police officer from
Manchester, Maryland, who is one of the first patients to
undergo the treatment, is convinced the medicine is working for
him.

Gobin's lung cancer jumped into his liver and the space
around his lung despite his treatment with chemotherapy and
radiation, he said. Within two months after starting on the
Bristol-Myers therapy in February 2011, the tumors began to
shrink, and they remain dormant today, he said in a telephone
interview.

Gobin said he is breathing better, has gained back 20
pounds he had lost and next month plans to play golf again for
the first time in years.

"I've beaten the odds," Gobin said. "This is a miracle
drug for me."

Cellular Switch

Over the last decade, researchers have homed in on a
cellular switch, referred to as PD-1, that may be triggered by
cancer cells to help them evade destruction by the immune
system. Brahmer of Johns Hopkins refers to it as an
'invisibility cloak."

Bristol-Myers's drug is designed to work by binding to the
switch, blocking the ability of tumors to access it. The
medicine produced remission lasting a year or longer in a small
minority of patients who had failed on other therapies,
according to meeting abstracts released May 16.

Company executives won't comment further in advance of the
cancer meeting, Koenig said. At the oncology meeting,
researchers are expected to present updated data from the trial
examining how long the remissions from the anti-PD-1 drug last.

Cancer researchers have worked on therapies to trigger the
immune system against cancer for decades, with limited success
until recently. The field achieved a breakthrough in March 2011
with the approval of Bristol-Myers's Yervoy, the first drug
proven to extend the lives of advanced melanoma patients.

Yervoy, designed to blunt a different immune system off
switch, generated (BMY) $514 million in sales in its first 12 months.

Many Cancer Types

The PD-1 switch is linked to many tumors types and may
extend the success of cancer immune therapy. A key issue will be
whether the PD-1 drugs can stimulate the body against tumors
without causing dangerous autoimmune reactions.

One lung cancer patient in the Bristol-Myers drug trial
died from lung toxicity linked to the medicine, according to the
meeting abstracts.

While PD-1 was discovered two decades ago by Kyoto
University researcher Tasuku Honjo, it took years for
researchers to appreciate its role in cancer.

In one 2002 study, cancer researcher Lieping Chen, now at
Yale University, showed that numerous types of human tumors,
including cancers of the lungs, ovaries, colon, and melanoma,
have high levels of a protein that can trigger the PD-1 switch
on immune cells. This and similar data from other scientists
indicated tumors use PD-1 as a mechanism to evade the immune
system, Chen said.

Surprising Result

"It was a major surprise," Chen said in a telephone
interview.

The current thinking is that there is a war between the
immune system and cancer, said Gordon Freeman, a molecular
immunologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

While the body successfully wipes out many tumors at the
earliest stages years before they produce symptoms, eventually
"some of them escape and grow to become terrible things," he
said. Manipulating PD-1 is one of the ways the tumors may do
this, he said.

One of the first companies to focus on PD-1 was Princeton,
New Jersey-based Medarex Inc., which started developing a PD-1
antibody in 2005 with Ono Pharmaceutical Co. of Japan, and was
acquired by Bristol-Myers in 2009 for $2.4 billion. Ono has
rights to the PD-1 antibody drug in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

'Mop Up' Cancer

Among other competitors, Merck is presenting data at the
meeting showing that its PD-1-blocking drug helped shrink or
stabilize tumors in four of nine patients in an early trial. The
immune approach "ultimately may result in cures for metastatic
cancers that we have not been able to cure in the past," said
Gary Gilliland, a Merck senior vice president.

It may be especially effective when used after chemotherapy
to "mop up" remaining tumor cells and prevent the cancer from
recurring, he said.

Roche (ROG) is in the earliest stages of human testing on a drug
that works by a slightly different approach and may be more
effective, said Stuart Lutzker, a vice president at Roche's
Genentech unit. Instead of binding to immune cells, the Roche
drug acts inside tumors to block their ability to shut down
immune cells, he said.

Though Bristol-Myers has about a two-year lead on its
competitors, it's still too early to know which approach will
prove most effective, said Leerink Swann's Fernandez.

"It is going to be a race to the finish line," he said.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Robert Langreth in New York at
rlangreth@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reg Gale at
rgale5@bloomberg.net

6 Ways To Boost Your Metabolism

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Jennifer Cohen
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People are always curious about what metabolism really does and how it works in your body. Basically, metabolism is a complex network of hormones and enzymes that convert food into fuel and determine how efficiently that fuel is used. Metabolism is also affected by gender (men usually burn more calories than women) and proportion of muscle mass. Surprisingly, obese people do not necessarily have slower metabolism- in fact the heavier you are, the FASTER your metabolism is running!

While we're all born with a certain metabolic level, there are things we can do to naturally boost it. After spending this Memorial Day weekend with family, friends and LOTS of food, here are 6 metabolism boosters you can do today to help burn off those extra burgers.

1. Eat Breakfast

Just as you need to start your car with fuel, you need to jump start your metabolism first thing in the morning to burn the most calories possible throughout the day. Studies show that eating breakfast can increase your resting metabolism for the rest of the day by as much as 10%. A healthy breakfast of fruit and Greek yogurt, or a piece of whole wheat toast and a couple of eggs. You just need something simple and healthy to alert your body to start working.

2. Vitamin B

Vitamin B is key in turning carbs, fats and proteins into energy. When you don't get enough your metabolism slows down, leaving you fatigued, possibly depressed and at risk for diseases. Try adding more spinach, melon, broccoli, and lean proteins like beans, fish and eggs to your diet to stock up on B vitamins. You'll notice the increase in energy right away.

3. Remember Magnesium

What mineral is needed to make your metabolism work efficiently with every muscle, nerve and heart cell in your body? Magnesium. It's also the same mineral that most Americans aren't getting enough of, according to the National Institutes of Health. The good news is that many of the same green veggies that are stocked with vitamin b are also rich in magnesium! Sprinkle a few nuts on a spinach salad or snack on some edamame to get a boost of magnesium.

4. Weight Lifting

No, you don't have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger! They say wisdom comes with age, but so does muscle loss. Unfortunately, muscle loss leads to a slower metabolism. After age 35, you lose .5% of muscle mass every year, and after age 60 it just gets worse. Fight this slowdown by building up lean muscle mass with strength and resistance training- your body's metabolic rate increases when you have more muscle mass to maintain. Research also suggests that resistance training may increase life expectancy – it's a win-win!

5. Eat, Eat, Eat

Your metabolism likes smaller meals more often and processes them more efficiently than large heavy meals. In fact, saving all of your calories and eating two heavy meals during the day is one of the surest ways to SLOW DOWN your metabolism. Try eating 5 times a day combining 3 light meals with 2 healthy snacks. How about some magnesium-rich edamame or vitamin b-filled honeydew melon?

6. HIIT Hard 

HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training, a method of exercise that is about short, intense workouts that usually last about 20 minutes. It has been shown to burn fat more effectively than being on the treadmill for hours on end. I don't recommend doing this every day, but incorporating HIIT into your fitness regime twice a week can amp up your metabolism and shock your body to stimulate fat loss.

Like Jennifer's tips? Like her on Facebook.com/theRealJenniferCohen, or tweet her @theRealJenCohen.