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Red clover may help to prevent prostate
cancer Posted in Cancer, Dietary Supplementation, Men's Health, DHEA on Mon January 12, 2009 New research suggests that the herbal supplement red clover (Trifolium pretense)
may blunt certain effects of the hormone DHEA, thus potentially eliminating any deleterious effects the hormone may have on
the prostate.
DHEA is well known for its anti-aging properties; however some scientists are concerned that its
use may increase the risk of prostate cancer. Julia Arnonld, Ph.D., a researcher at the National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health says that DHEA may be "potentially harmful in tissues
containing inflammation or with early cancer lesions because the cells can induce DHEA to become more androgenic." At
present, men with prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), other cancers, or a family history of these conditions,
are advised against taking supplementary DHEA.
Researchers studying signaling between human prostate cancer cells
and supporting stromal cells found that combining DHEA with transforming growth factor beta-1 increased testosterone production
in the stromal cells, increased prostate specific antigen (PSA) protein secretion two to four-fold, and increased gene expression
up to 50-fold in the cancer cells. However, no increases in testosterone production, PSA production, or gene expression, were
observed when the cell cultures were treated with red clover isoflavones.
"Something is happening in the prostate
tissue microenvironment that is illustrating a potential cancer prevention effect from this supplement," says Dr Arnold.
However, she adds that more work, both in the laboratory and in clinical studies, is needed to confirm the findings.
News release: New Lab Evidence Suggests Preventive Effect of Herbal Supplement in Prostate Cancer. American Association
for Cancer Research (AACR). January 12th 2009.
Purchase Pure Herbs Red Clover
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Postmenopausal exercise cuts breast cancer
risk Posted in Cancer, Exercise, Women's Health on Fri January 16, 2009 Women who remain physically active after the menopause can reduce their risk of developing
breast cancer by as much as one third, new research has shown.
Professor Dr. Jenny Chang-Claude and colleagues
studied data obtained from 3,464 breast cancer patients and 6,657 healthy women between the ages of 50 and 74 years. Participants
were questioned about their physical activity levels at two periods in their life – during 30 to 49 years of age and
50 and over.
Results showed that women in the control group were generally more active than participants with breast
cancer. After adjusting results for other breast cancer risk factors, it was found that women who were the most physically
active were approximately one third less likely to develop breast cancer compared to women who were the least physically active.
Physical activity in the postmenopausal period was found to be particularly beneficial for reducing breast cancer risk The
results also showed that regular gym sessions are not needed to reduce breast cancer risk. Women who were the most physically
active walked for a couple of hours each day and cycled for one hour, whilst those who were the least physically active walked
for just 30 minutes or so each day.
"It doesn't always have to be sports," said study author Dr.
Karen Steindorf. "In our calculations we have also taken account of activities such as gardening, cycling, or walking
to the shops. Our advice to all women is therefore to stay or become physically active also in the second half of your life.
You will not only reduce your risk of breast cancer, but it has been proven that your bones, heart and brain also benefit
from it."
News release: Reduced breast cancer risk: Physical activity after menopause pays off. Helmholtz
Association of German Research Centres. January 15th 2009.
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Beta cell discovery offers hope of new
treatments for diabetes Posted in Diabetes, Regenerative Medicine on Wed January 14, 2009 Researchers have found a way of inducing human beta cells, the insulin-producing cells destroyed
by diabetes, thus offering hope of new treatments for the disease.
Nathalie Fiaschi-Taesch, Ph.D., and Todd Bigatel, both
of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues found that human beta cells contain a significant amount
of a protein called cdk-6. The researchers then went on to discover that increasing cdk-6 production using a viral vector
carrying the cdk-6 gene caused the beta cells to replicate. Further studies showed that it was possible to enhance replication
by increasing the production of another molecule called cyclin D1, which is involved in cell cycle control.
Next,
the researchers transplanted some of the engineered human beta cells under the outer layer of a kidney in a diabetic mouse.
Study results showed that beta cell replication continued and the mouse’s blood sugar levels returned to normal levels.
Removing the cells from the mouse caused the mouse to immediately become diabetic again.
"This work provides
proof-of-principle that the production of human beta cells can be stimulated, and that the newly generated cells function
effectively both in the lab and in a living animal," said senior author Professor Andrew Stewart.
News release:
Human beta cells can be easily induced to replicate, according to study in Diabetes. University of Pittsburgh Schools
of the Health Sciences. January 13th 2009.
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