(HealthDay News) -- Three or more drinks a day boosts a woman's risk for breast cancer by 30 percent. And it doesn't seem to matter which form of alcohol -- wine, beer, or spirits -- is consumed, researchers report.
"The majority of previous studies have found an association between alcohol and elevated breast cancer risk," said lead researcher Dr. Yan Li, an oncologist at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif.
What hasn't been as clear, she said, is how much alcohol raises the risk and whether one type of alcohol boosts that risk more than another.
Li tackled those questions with Dr. Arthur Klatsky, an investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland and a long-time researcher on the health benefits and risks of alcoholic beverages. Klatsky is due to present the team's findings Sept. 27 at the European Cancer Conference in Barcelona, Spain.
The researchers first evaluated the drinking habits of more than 70,000 women, all members of the Kaiser Permanente HMO. The women had undergone health exams during the years 1978 to 1985. By 2004, more than 2,800 women had experienced a breast cancer diagnosis.
Comparing the women's drinking habits to the incidence of breast cancer, the team found that women who drank between one and two alcoholic drinks a day increased their risk of breast cancer by 10 percent compared to light drinkers -- defined as those who drank less than one drink a day.
That risk rose as drinking rates increased. "The risk of breast cancer increased by 30 percent in women who drank three or more drinks per day" compared to light drinkers, Li said.
"What we are saying is, whatever your baseline risk is of getting breast cancer, by consuming alcohol you have this increment," Li said.
The risk of breast cancer in individual women varies greatly, Li said, depending on their family history and whether they are genetically predisposed due to mutations of the so-called breast cancer genes, BRCA-1 and BRCA-2.
In the general population, the lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is one in eight women, Li said. Based on the study findings, however, "if you drink three or more drinks a day, that risk -- rather than one in eight -- will be one in six," she said.
The increase in risk was similar no matter which type of beverage was typically consumed. "It makes no difference whether women drink wine, beer or liquor in terms of their risk of breast cancer," Li said. "It's the alcohol itself. And it's the quantity consumed that increases breast cancer risk."
The researchers didn't find any difference in risk between red and white wine, although some previous research has found red wine more heart-protective than white. That cardiovascular benefit has been linked to the presence of antioxidant flavonoids in red wine, especially one flavonoid called resveratrol.
Another expert familiar with the new study said the research adds some valuable information to what is known about breast cancer risk. Especially valuable -- because it is new -- is the information about all types of alcohol seeming to raise risk equally, said Coral Lamartiniere, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
He has researched resveratrol, which has shown both antioxidant and anticancer properties. In a study published in August in the journal Carcinogenesis, Lamartiniere found that animals fed resveratrol had an 87 percent reduced risk of getting prostate tumors.
How do his findings that the resveratrol in wine protected against prostate cancer -- at least in animals -- square with the new findings that neither red nor white wine seem protective against breast cancer in women? At least at first glance, "the alcohol is obviously a more potent carcinogen than resveratrol is protective against cancer," Lamartiniere said.
But, he said, "different red wines have different potencies of resveratrol. Cabernet sauvignon has the highest." What isn't clear, he added, is how much resveratrol was in the red wine typically consumed by the women in the Kaiser study.
So, what's the best advice for women interested in minimizing their breast cancer risk? "Modest consumption of anything is the way to go," Lamartiniere said.
Li emphasized that alcohol consumption is just one of the factors that could raise breast cancer risk. To reduce overall breast cancer risk, she advises women to follow a healthy lifestyle by eating a good diet, exercising, not smoking and not drinking heavily.
More information
To learn more about breast cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
More Prostate Cancers Might Be Prevented
(HealthDay News) -- Prostate cancer prevention studies conducted since the 1990s are poised to revolutionize the field in the next five years, a Canadian analysis concludes.
"I am optimistic that for the coming generation, beginning with men in their 20s and 30s, we will have a viable strategy to decrease the chance of developing prostate cancer later in life," said study lead author Dr. Neil Fleshner.
A professor of surgery, Fleshner heads the division of urology at Princess Margaret Hospital, part of the University Health Network at the University of Toronto.
His team's overview of the last 15 years of prostate cancer prevention research is published in the Nov. 1 issue of Cancer.
According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), cancer of the prostate is the most common non-skin cancer among American men. Most patients diagnosed with the disease do not ultimately die of it. However, because of its high prevalence, prostate cancer remains the third biggest cancer killer for men in the Western world.
By age 40, one-third of men have already developed small carcinomas of the prostate, the researchers noted. By age 60, that figure rises to 60 percent, and, in North America, one in seven men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives.
But the disease is also often slow-moving, sometimes taking decades to develop from a single prostate cancer cell to advanced-stage illness.
That fact has led to the hope that doctors could intervene in ways that could halt disease progression at an early stage.
One such study reviewed by Fleshner and his colleagues was the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), overseen by the NCI.
In this instance, NCI researchers looked at the ability of finasteride -- a so-called 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (5ARI) medication -- to impede the growth-promoting impact of hormones such as testosterone on prostate cancer.
Designed to interfere with the body's ability to uptake testosterone and other male hormones, finasteride was offered to half the almost 19,000 men over the age of 55 who participated in the seven-year study.
At the study's start, all the men screened as "normal" following digital rectal exams. As well, all had registered low-scoring prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. An elevated level of PSA in the blood is an indication of prostate cancer.
Yearly digital rectal exams and PSA screenings revealed that almost 25 percent of the men on placebo went on to develop prostate cancer. However, just a little over 18 percent of those taking finasteride got the disease.
Fleshner and his associates noted, however, that most of the cancer cases prevented appeared to be of the early stage, low-grade variety. More serious, higher-grade disease actually appeared to become more common among patients taking finasteride. This raises concern that the medication might actually hasten disease progression, the Canadian group cautioned.
Nevertheless, their review concluded that finasteride might, in the near future, become an effective prevention tool for men with a strong family history of the disease.
Additional studies are currently under way to explore the benefits of newer hormone manipulation drugs, they noted, including the 5ARI drug dutasteride and the selective estrogen receptor modifier toremifene. Results should be available in a few years.
Meanwhile, the Canadian team also uncovered evidence suggesting that limiting fat in the diet might also reduce prostate cancer risk. Various studies have highlighted unhealthful connections between fat and pesticide exposure, testosterone level increases, and the rise of oxidative stress -- all of which seem to contribute to prostate disease risk.
By contrast, evidence has mounted that increasing vitamin E and selenium intake could also protect against prostate cancer, they said. Recent research also suggests that consuming more green tea, soy, vitamin D, and lycopene (typically found in tomatoes) might confer similar benefits.
Fleshner and his colleagues hailed the new emphasis on prevention. The arrival of even more helpful prevention information might be just around the corner, they said.
"What's exciting now is that there's no doubt any longer that prostate disease is preventable," said Fleshner. "This will not necessarily translate into improved mortality rates, because it may be that we will be able to prevent more low-grade disease than high-grade."
But many men with low-grade disease currently undergo surgery and other treatments that can impact their quality of life, he noted. "So, even if we are able to reduce just the need for unnecessary treatment, this will be a good step," Fleshner said.
Not everyone shares that optimism, however.
Dr. Nelson Neal Stone, a clinical professor of urology and radiation oncology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, believes that when it comes to preventing prostate cancer, "we're still sort of at a loss."
"Today, you can't really advise a patient to do anything to prevent prostate cancer," he said. "The best study so far -- the PCPT study-- did show a 25 percent drop in prostate cancer, but that was in low-grade tumors, whereas the incidence of high-grade tumors may actually have gone up. And a lot of the dietary factors that showed promise --vitamins, selenium -- have come into question as to whether they're really helping patients."
"So, I would agree that in five year's time, we will probably come up with strategies to reduce the clinical incidence of the disease in terms of detecting low-grade cancer," he added. "But that doesn't have much meaning in a patient's life. What has meaning is the ability to prevent a high-grade tumor from metastasizing and potentially ending a patient's life. And nobody has shown that anything can reduce that."
"In my opinion, the best strategy we have now is early detection," Stone said. "If you find a patient with an aggressive prostate cancer, and it's small and in the prostate and you find it early, you save that patient's life."
More information
For more on prostate cancer prevention, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
"I am optimistic that for the coming generation, beginning with men in their 20s and 30s, we will have a viable strategy to decrease the chance of developing prostate cancer later in life," said study lead author Dr. Neil Fleshner.
A professor of surgery, Fleshner heads the division of urology at Princess Margaret Hospital, part of the University Health Network at the University of Toronto.
His team's overview of the last 15 years of prostate cancer prevention research is published in the Nov. 1 issue of Cancer.
According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), cancer of the prostate is the most common non-skin cancer among American men. Most patients diagnosed with the disease do not ultimately die of it. However, because of its high prevalence, prostate cancer remains the third biggest cancer killer for men in the Western world.
By age 40, one-third of men have already developed small carcinomas of the prostate, the researchers noted. By age 60, that figure rises to 60 percent, and, in North America, one in seven men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives.
But the disease is also often slow-moving, sometimes taking decades to develop from a single prostate cancer cell to advanced-stage illness.
That fact has led to the hope that doctors could intervene in ways that could halt disease progression at an early stage.
One such study reviewed by Fleshner and his colleagues was the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), overseen by the NCI.
In this instance, NCI researchers looked at the ability of finasteride -- a so-called 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (5ARI) medication -- to impede the growth-promoting impact of hormones such as testosterone on prostate cancer.
Designed to interfere with the body's ability to uptake testosterone and other male hormones, finasteride was offered to half the almost 19,000 men over the age of 55 who participated in the seven-year study.
At the study's start, all the men screened as "normal" following digital rectal exams. As well, all had registered low-scoring prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. An elevated level of PSA in the blood is an indication of prostate cancer.
Yearly digital rectal exams and PSA screenings revealed that almost 25 percent of the men on placebo went on to develop prostate cancer. However, just a little over 18 percent of those taking finasteride got the disease.
Fleshner and his associates noted, however, that most of the cancer cases prevented appeared to be of the early stage, low-grade variety. More serious, higher-grade disease actually appeared to become more common among patients taking finasteride. This raises concern that the medication might actually hasten disease progression, the Canadian group cautioned.
Nevertheless, their review concluded that finasteride might, in the near future, become an effective prevention tool for men with a strong family history of the disease.
Additional studies are currently under way to explore the benefits of newer hormone manipulation drugs, they noted, including the 5ARI drug dutasteride and the selective estrogen receptor modifier toremifene. Results should be available in a few years.
Meanwhile, the Canadian team also uncovered evidence suggesting that limiting fat in the diet might also reduce prostate cancer risk. Various studies have highlighted unhealthful connections between fat and pesticide exposure, testosterone level increases, and the rise of oxidative stress -- all of which seem to contribute to prostate disease risk.
By contrast, evidence has mounted that increasing vitamin E and selenium intake could also protect against prostate cancer, they said. Recent research also suggests that consuming more green tea, soy, vitamin D, and lycopene (typically found in tomatoes) might confer similar benefits.
Fleshner and his colleagues hailed the new emphasis on prevention. The arrival of even more helpful prevention information might be just around the corner, they said.
"What's exciting now is that there's no doubt any longer that prostate disease is preventable," said Fleshner. "This will not necessarily translate into improved mortality rates, because it may be that we will be able to prevent more low-grade disease than high-grade."
But many men with low-grade disease currently undergo surgery and other treatments that can impact their quality of life, he noted. "So, even if we are able to reduce just the need for unnecessary treatment, this will be a good step," Fleshner said.
Not everyone shares that optimism, however.
Dr. Nelson Neal Stone, a clinical professor of urology and radiation oncology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, believes that when it comes to preventing prostate cancer, "we're still sort of at a loss."
"Today, you can't really advise a patient to do anything to prevent prostate cancer," he said. "The best study so far -- the PCPT study-- did show a 25 percent drop in prostate cancer, but that was in low-grade tumors, whereas the incidence of high-grade tumors may actually have gone up. And a lot of the dietary factors that showed promise --vitamins, selenium -- have come into question as to whether they're really helping patients."
"So, I would agree that in five year's time, we will probably come up with strategies to reduce the clinical incidence of the disease in terms of detecting low-grade cancer," he added. "But that doesn't have much meaning in a patient's life. What has meaning is the ability to prevent a high-grade tumor from metastasizing and potentially ending a patient's life. And nobody has shown that anything can reduce that."
"In my opinion, the best strategy we have now is early detection," Stone said. "If you find a patient with an aggressive prostate cancer, and it's small and in the prostate and you find it early, you save that patient's life."
More information
For more on prostate cancer prevention, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Health Tip: Pacifier Safety
(HealthDay News) -- A pacifier can help keep your baby calm and happy between feedings. While pacifiers are generally safe, it's important to follow a few rules to prevent accidents.
Here are some suggestions, courtesy of the University of Michigan Health System:
Here are some suggestions, courtesy of the University of Michigan Health System:
- Never try to produce a homemade pacifier -- only use commercially approved, one-piece pacifiers.
- Use a clip designed to attach the pacifier to your baby's clothing, but never attach it with a string or any device that could strangle her.
- Only give your baby a pacifier with a hollow center. Avoid liquid-filled pacifiers, which could harbor germs.
- Never dip the pacifier in any liquid or sweet, as this can promote tooth decay.
- Wash the pacifier after each use, or if it has been dropped on the floor.
- If a pacifier has been damaged or broken, throw it away immediately.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Depression Pushes Middle-Aged Workers to Retire
(HealthDay News) -- In many cases, depression is a deciding factor for men and women considering retirement, according to new research.Middle-aged men who suffer with symptoms of depression are more likely to retire early, while retirement-age women often take the leap even if their depressive symptoms are mild.
According to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, one in 10 working adults will experience a bout of depression over the course of the year.
The research team came to these conclusions after examining data from almost 3,000 adults participating in the Health and Retirement Study, a long-term study of mental health and work status drawing from 48 states. The adults were between the ages of 53 and 58 and completed a survey every two years between 1994 and 2002.
Previous research in Finland also indicated that experiencing depression predicted early retirement. Writing in Health Services Research, the researchers noted that the Finnish government provides a greater post-retirement safety net system than exists in the United States, so the fact that depression still exerts a strong influence on U.S. workers' decision to retire indicates the severity of depression's impact.
"In light of our findings, it is of concern that major depression and depressive symptoms are often unrecognized and under-treated. The burden presented by depression may be higher than we thought," lead researcher Jalpa Doshi said in a prepared statement.
Doshi pointed out that retiring early as a result of depression may create a more difficult health situation for the individual if their retirement savings are not sufficient and they can not obtain affordable health insurance.
More information
For more on depression and the workplace, visit Mental Health America.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Eye Safety Begins at Home
(HealthDay News) -- Half of all eye injuries in the United States occur at home but are preventable, according to experts at the nonprofit group Prevent Blindness America.
From cleaning products to coat hangers, the average American home is rife with the potential for painful, blinding accidents. Americans can take simple steps, such as wearing appropriate eye protection, to protect their sight, however.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 219,000 Americans went to the emergency room for eye injuries in 2006. More than half of those injuries occurred at home.
Ninety percent of home eye injuries can be prevented by wearing safety goggles while doing lawn work, cleaning or working on the car, experts say. Safety goggles should have "ANSI Z-87" stamped on the lenses or frames. The stamp means they have been certified by the American National Standards Institute.
People should also wash their hands when they complete their chores before touching their eyes or face.
"When we perform the same chores or tasks around the house, week after week, we can get complacent about how quickly accidents can happen," Daniel D. Garrett, senior vice president of Prevent Blindness America, said in a prepared statement. "We all need to take extra care when we're at home to protect our sight and not wind up in the emergency room."
Prevent Blindness America has declared September "Home Eye Safety Awareness Month" in an effort to draw attention to everyday risks to vision.
Children are at special risk because of their "creative" use of ordinary household items such as coat hangers, glue and pencils. Prevent Blindness America offers the following tips to help kids learn eye-safe behaviors:
From cleaning products to coat hangers, the average American home is rife with the potential for painful, blinding accidents. Americans can take simple steps, such as wearing appropriate eye protection, to protect their sight, however.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 219,000 Americans went to the emergency room for eye injuries in 2006. More than half of those injuries occurred at home.
Ninety percent of home eye injuries can be prevented by wearing safety goggles while doing lawn work, cleaning or working on the car, experts say. Safety goggles should have "ANSI Z-87" stamped on the lenses or frames. The stamp means they have been certified by the American National Standards Institute.
People should also wash their hands when they complete their chores before touching their eyes or face.
"When we perform the same chores or tasks around the house, week after week, we can get complacent about how quickly accidents can happen," Daniel D. Garrett, senior vice president of Prevent Blindness America, said in a prepared statement. "We all need to take extra care when we're at home to protect our sight and not wind up in the emergency room."
Prevent Blindness America has declared September "Home Eye Safety Awareness Month" in an effort to draw attention to everyday risks to vision.
Children are at special risk because of their "creative" use of ordinary household items such as coat hangers, glue and pencils. Prevent Blindness America offers the following tips to help kids learn eye-safe behaviors:
- Teach children not to run around with forks, knives, pencils, combs or toothbrushes.
- Keep detergents, cleaning supplies, nail polish remover, mouthwash and cosmetics in locked cabinets or out of reach.
- Keep clothes hangers hanging in the closet.
- Place nails, glue, screwdrivers and other tools out of children's reach.
- Keep younger kids away from work areas where power tools are in use.
More information
There's more on eye safety at Prevent Blindness America.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Tweaking Genes Could Extend ALS Survival
(HealthDay News) -- U.S. scientists say they've spotted genes that influence survival in mice with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
The University of Iowa researchers say the finding may have implications for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases in humans.
The team found that two cell-signaling proteins, called Nox1 and Nox2, appear to play an important role in the progression of an inherited form of ALS. Deleting either Nox1 or Nox2 from mice with this inherited form of ALS significantly increased the rodents' life span.
The deletion of Nox2 had the most impact -- nearly doubling the life span of the mice and significantly increasing the time from disease onset to death (survival index). This is the first study to identify a single gene that affects survival index in animals with ALS, the researchers said.
The study is in the Sept. 13 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
"The findings provide encouraging data that there are new potential therapeutic targets in ALS," research team leader John Engelhardt, professor and head of anatomy and cell biology, said in a prepared statement.
"Whether our findings will bear out in humans still has to be evaluated, but our results suggest that inhibiting Nox proteins might significantly enhance survival in ALS," he said.
More information
The Muscular Dystrophy Association has more about ALS.
The University of Iowa researchers say the finding may have implications for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases in humans.
The team found that two cell-signaling proteins, called Nox1 and Nox2, appear to play an important role in the progression of an inherited form of ALS. Deleting either Nox1 or Nox2 from mice with this inherited form of ALS significantly increased the rodents' life span.
The deletion of Nox2 had the most impact -- nearly doubling the life span of the mice and significantly increasing the time from disease onset to death (survival index). This is the first study to identify a single gene that affects survival index in animals with ALS, the researchers said.
The study is in the Sept. 13 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
"The findings provide encouraging data that there are new potential therapeutic targets in ALS," research team leader John Engelhardt, professor and head of anatomy and cell biology, said in a prepared statement.
"Whether our findings will bear out in humans still has to be evaluated, but our results suggest that inhibiting Nox proteins might significantly enhance survival in ALS," he said.
More information
The Muscular Dystrophy Association has more about ALS.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Researchers Find Better Way to Deliver Blood Thinner
(HealthDay News) -- A new gene-based dosing formula for the anti-clotting drug warfarin should make it easier to prescribe the correct dose of the blood thinner, researchers say.
Up to this point, doctors have had to engage in a trial-and-error process over several weeks that left patients at risk of hemorrhaging from low doses or developing blood clots with too-high doses.
"We already knew these genes affected warfarin dosing, but we didn't know how to use that information clinically," researcher Dr. Brian Gage, medical director of Barnes-Jewish Hospital's Blood Thinner Clinic, said in a prepared statement. "But with this study, we've established a simple way to combine these genetic factors with clinical factors in a dosing algorithm."
Gage and colleagues developed the formula based on study participants who had undergone hip replacement or knee surgery. The study team focused on two genes, VKORC1 and CYP2C9, which are known to affect the way warfarin operates inside the body.
Using the new method, physicians head to a Web-based tool to calculate a patient's initial dosage more accurately.
Writing in the September issue of Blood, Gage and colleagues said the calculated dose will cut down on the number of dose changes patients will need before the amount is correct.
The method follows on the heels of an Aug. 16 requirement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that labeling for warfarin include information about the effect of the two genes.
The FDA also called for studies to determine the correct dosage for people with each genetic variation. This is the first study to address that request.
Warfarin, sold under the brand name Coumadin, prevents blood clots and reduces the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, artificial heart valves, deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary emboli. It is also used to prevent clots in people who recently had certain orthopedic surgeries.
More information
To learn more about blood clots, visit Deep Vein Thrombosis: What You Should Know.
Up to this point, doctors have had to engage in a trial-and-error process over several weeks that left patients at risk of hemorrhaging from low doses or developing blood clots with too-high doses.
"We already knew these genes affected warfarin dosing, but we didn't know how to use that information clinically," researcher Dr. Brian Gage, medical director of Barnes-Jewish Hospital's Blood Thinner Clinic, said in a prepared statement. "But with this study, we've established a simple way to combine these genetic factors with clinical factors in a dosing algorithm."
Gage and colleagues developed the formula based on study participants who had undergone hip replacement or knee surgery. The study team focused on two genes, VKORC1 and CYP2C9, which are known to affect the way warfarin operates inside the body.
Using the new method, physicians head to a Web-based tool to calculate a patient's initial dosage more accurately.
Writing in the September issue of Blood, Gage and colleagues said the calculated dose will cut down on the number of dose changes patients will need before the amount is correct.
The method follows on the heels of an Aug. 16 requirement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that labeling for warfarin include information about the effect of the two genes.
The FDA also called for studies to determine the correct dosage for people with each genetic variation. This is the first study to address that request.
Warfarin, sold under the brand name Coumadin, prevents blood clots and reduces the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, artificial heart valves, deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary emboli. It is also used to prevent clots in people who recently had certain orthopedic surgeries.
More information
To learn more about blood clots, visit Deep Vein Thrombosis: What You Should Know.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Cutting Salt Won't Affect Foods' Safety
(HealthDay News) -- Reducing the amount of salt in processed foods does not increase the risk of those foods spoiling, new research shows.
Cutting down on salt in processed foods may result in products that are healthier for consumers' hearts, but manufacturers have long been concerned about the longevity of these de-salted products.
Now, a research team at the University of Limerick in Ireland has checked safety levels of low-salt foods by studying the behavior of different strains of bacteria that contribute to food spoilage.
"In general, we discovered that the growth of different sorts of typical food spoilage bacteria was unaffected by the various salt levels we tested, which means that low salt foods are just as safe as conventionally processed ones," said researcher Edel Durack in a prepared statement.
Reporting this week at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting in Edinburgh, the researchers found that all the bacteria studied were capable of growing in the highest level of salt concentration. Some bacteria even flourished in the high-salt environment. Reducing those salt levels did not significantly increase bacterial activity.
"At the moment, our results are helping processors reduce salt levels in frozen ready-to-eat meals. Generally, these meals carry a large percentage of the recommended daily allowance of salt. This type of food is becoming increasingly popular and is in high demand due to its convenience and time restrictions placed on consumers due to modern-day lifestyles," said Durack.
The American Heart Association recommends that all adults eat less than 2,300 milligrams of salt every day. That's the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt.
The researchers expressed hope that the results could lead to the development of new low-salt food options that can help people lower their risk of heart disease.
More information
To learn more about salt in the diet, visit the American Heart Association.
Cutting down on salt in processed foods may result in products that are healthier for consumers' hearts, but manufacturers have long been concerned about the longevity of these de-salted products.
Now, a research team at the University of Limerick in Ireland has checked safety levels of low-salt foods by studying the behavior of different strains of bacteria that contribute to food spoilage.
"In general, we discovered that the growth of different sorts of typical food spoilage bacteria was unaffected by the various salt levels we tested, which means that low salt foods are just as safe as conventionally processed ones," said researcher Edel Durack in a prepared statement.
Reporting this week at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting in Edinburgh, the researchers found that all the bacteria studied were capable of growing in the highest level of salt concentration. Some bacteria even flourished in the high-salt environment. Reducing those salt levels did not significantly increase bacterial activity.
"At the moment, our results are helping processors reduce salt levels in frozen ready-to-eat meals. Generally, these meals carry a large percentage of the recommended daily allowance of salt. This type of food is becoming increasingly popular and is in high demand due to its convenience and time restrictions placed on consumers due to modern-day lifestyles," said Durack.
The American Heart Association recommends that all adults eat less than 2,300 milligrams of salt every day. That's the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt.
The researchers expressed hope that the results could lead to the development of new low-salt food options that can help people lower their risk of heart disease.
More information
To learn more about salt in the diet, visit the American Heart Association.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
HIV Drug Might Fight Cancer
(HealthDay News) -- A drug used as part of a regimen to treat HIV also appears to kill cancer cells, researchers from the U.S. National Cancer Institute report.
Based on this new finding, the HIV protease inhibitor nelfinavir is being used in a phase I clinical trial to determine what might be the safest and most effective dose for cancer patients. This strategy of finding new uses for existing drugs could have a major impact on treating cancer and other diseases, the researchers added.
"This could be a new approach to finding cancer drugs and cut the time for getting them approved," said lead researcher Dr. Phillip A. Dennis. "Repositioning drugs that are already FDA-approved could accelerate the development of new cancer therapies."
The researchers hit upon the idea of testing nelfinavir and other protease inhibitors as cancer drugs, because these drugs block Akt, a protein essential for the development of many types of cancer, including non-small cell lung cancer.
The report is published in the Sept. 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.
In experiments with mice, Dennis' team tested six protease inhibitors on non-small cell lung cancer and on 60 human cancer cell types from nine different kinds of malignant tissue.
At doses that are safe in HIV-infected patients, three of the drugs, nelfinavir, ritonavir and saquinavir, blocked growth of non-small cell lung cancer and every other cancer cell type tested, the researchers found.
However, nelfinavir was the most effective of all the drugs tested. It caused cancer cells to self-destruct or become stressed to the point of dying, Dennis said.
In addition, nelfinavir inhibited the growth of both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant breast cancer cells, indicating that it could be used to fight cancer cells that are resistant to common chemotherapy drugs. Nelfinavir may also be able to overcome resistance to radiation, the researchers reported.
Dennis noted that low doses of nelfinavir are used in treating HIV, and even at those low doses, the drug is effective against cancer. The current phase I trial will test higher doses to find the most effective dose with the fewest harmful side effects, he said.
In the trial, patients are already receiving higher doses with no apparent problem, Dennis said.
"If nelfinavir is proven effective in fighting cancer, it would, most likely, be used in combination with other cancer drugs," Dennis said.
One expert thinks this finding could be an important advance in cancer treatment.
"If it is proven that the toxicity levels are manageable in humans, it's going to be a great thing," said Charles Saxe, a scientific program director at the American Cancer Society. "Being able to get these drugs faster to patients by crossing over from one disease to another is going to be a big help."
Saxe noted that nelfinavir's ability to fight cancer in humans still needs to be proven. "But if they are right, and they can keep toxicity at reasonable levels, and they can show an effect at doses HIV patients can handle, that would be really exciting," he said.
In other cancer news, National Cancer Institute researchers report that they have found an extract of the skin of muscadine grapes (MSKE) can cause prostate cancer cells to die without affecting normal cells, according to a report in the Sept. 1 issue of Cancer Research.
The lead researcher noted this extract does not contain significant amounts of resveratrol, another grape skin component that has been linked to preventing the growth of prostate cancer.
"These results show that MSKE may have potent anti-tumor activities in the lab that differ from the effects of resveratrol. Further studies of MSKE will be necessary to determine if this extract has potential as a chemopreventive or therapeutic agent," Dr. Jeffrey E. Green, chief of the Transgenic Oncogenesis and Genomics Section at the Center for Cancer Research, said in a statement.
And in other HIV news, a study in the August issue of AIDS Patient Care and STDs, researchers found that one-fourth of HIV patients feel stigmatized by their doctors.
Most of the patients who felt that way were low-income minorities with poor access to care.
"Whether or not it is actual stigmatization is hard to measure, because it's coming from the patients that we interviewed," lead researcher Janni J. Kinsler, from the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a statement. "The point is that these people feel that way, and that's bad enough, because they're less likely to seek the care they need."
More information
For more on cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
Based on this new finding, the HIV protease inhibitor nelfinavir is being used in a phase I clinical trial to determine what might be the safest and most effective dose for cancer patients. This strategy of finding new uses for existing drugs could have a major impact on treating cancer and other diseases, the researchers added.
"This could be a new approach to finding cancer drugs and cut the time for getting them approved," said lead researcher Dr. Phillip A. Dennis. "Repositioning drugs that are already FDA-approved could accelerate the development of new cancer therapies."
The researchers hit upon the idea of testing nelfinavir and other protease inhibitors as cancer drugs, because these drugs block Akt, a protein essential for the development of many types of cancer, including non-small cell lung cancer.
The report is published in the Sept. 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.
In experiments with mice, Dennis' team tested six protease inhibitors on non-small cell lung cancer and on 60 human cancer cell types from nine different kinds of malignant tissue.
At doses that are safe in HIV-infected patients, three of the drugs, nelfinavir, ritonavir and saquinavir, blocked growth of non-small cell lung cancer and every other cancer cell type tested, the researchers found.
However, nelfinavir was the most effective of all the drugs tested. It caused cancer cells to self-destruct or become stressed to the point of dying, Dennis said.
In addition, nelfinavir inhibited the growth of both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant breast cancer cells, indicating that it could be used to fight cancer cells that are resistant to common chemotherapy drugs. Nelfinavir may also be able to overcome resistance to radiation, the researchers reported.
Dennis noted that low doses of nelfinavir are used in treating HIV, and even at those low doses, the drug is effective against cancer. The current phase I trial will test higher doses to find the most effective dose with the fewest harmful side effects, he said.
In the trial, patients are already receiving higher doses with no apparent problem, Dennis said.
"If nelfinavir is proven effective in fighting cancer, it would, most likely, be used in combination with other cancer drugs," Dennis said.
One expert thinks this finding could be an important advance in cancer treatment.
"If it is proven that the toxicity levels are manageable in humans, it's going to be a great thing," said Charles Saxe, a scientific program director at the American Cancer Society. "Being able to get these drugs faster to patients by crossing over from one disease to another is going to be a big help."
Saxe noted that nelfinavir's ability to fight cancer in humans still needs to be proven. "But if they are right, and they can keep toxicity at reasonable levels, and they can show an effect at doses HIV patients can handle, that would be really exciting," he said.
In other cancer news, National Cancer Institute researchers report that they have found an extract of the skin of muscadine grapes (MSKE) can cause prostate cancer cells to die without affecting normal cells, according to a report in the Sept. 1 issue of Cancer Research.
The lead researcher noted this extract does not contain significant amounts of resveratrol, another grape skin component that has been linked to preventing the growth of prostate cancer.
"These results show that MSKE may have potent anti-tumor activities in the lab that differ from the effects of resveratrol. Further studies of MSKE will be necessary to determine if this extract has potential as a chemopreventive or therapeutic agent," Dr. Jeffrey E. Green, chief of the Transgenic Oncogenesis and Genomics Section at the Center for Cancer Research, said in a statement.
And in other HIV news, a study in the August issue of AIDS Patient Care and STDs, researchers found that one-fourth of HIV patients feel stigmatized by their doctors.
Most of the patients who felt that way were low-income minorities with poor access to care.
"Whether or not it is actual stigmatization is hard to measure, because it's coming from the patients that we interviewed," lead researcher Janni J. Kinsler, from the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a statement. "The point is that these people feel that way, and that's bad enough, because they're less likely to seek the care they need."
More information
For more on cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
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