• New Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Disease

    New Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Disease

    A recent study explained that a new blood test for Alzheimer’s disease is very reliable. Specifically, it determined with 96% accuracy elevated levels of beta amyloid. It also accurately identified tau protein, another Alzheimer’s marker, with 97%. The original research study was published at JAMA … [Read More...]

  • Living with the Aging Process

    Living with the Aging Process

    The following article describes living with the aging process. Older adults undergo the process of aging between the ages of 50 and 80. This is a complex process affecting various systems parallel. There are hormone factors that are particularly prominent in women during menopause. Joints are affected by … [Read More...]

  • Ashwagandha’s Benefits

    Ashwagandha’s Benefits

    Medical news today had an article in October 2023 that reviewed ashwagandha’s benefits. I thought it would be useful to discuss this topic in an abridged version. Often things get distorted on the Internet and a reality check helps to separate facts from fiction. Ashwagandha (botanical name: Withania somnifera) is a … [Read More...]

  • Beef and Dairy May Cause Cancer and MS

    Beef and Dairy May Cause Cancer and MS

    New cancer research suggests that chronic virus particles in beef and dairy may cause cancer and MS (multiple sclerosis). The Medical journal Medscape.com had a review article that summarized this line of research. Papillomaviruses and cervical cancer Harald zur Hausen, M.D., D.Sc., a German virologist, detected … [Read More...]

  • Fasting-Mimicking Diet Is Benefitting Cardiovascular Health

    Fasting-Mimicking Diet Is Benefitting Cardiovascular Health

    A crossover study showed that a fasting-mimicking diet is benefitting cardiovascular health. This new study was done by Dr. Valter Longo et al. from the University of Southern California. It compared the effect of two diets. They were the fasting-mimicking diet versus an unrestricted diet. In other studies Dr. Longo … [Read More...]

  • Backup your New Year’s Resolutions by looking at short-term Consequences

    Backup your New Year’s Resolutions by looking at short-term Consequences

    In the New Year it pays to backup your New Year’s resolutions by looking at short-term consequences. An article in “the conversation” explains how you can keep yourself motivated to stick to healthy habits. The alternative would be to fall back into unhealthy habits, which lead to various disease conditions. … [Read More...]

    Jun
    01
    2004

    Green Tea Knocks Out Leukemia Cells

    Cancer is less common in eastern Asia, where green tea is the most common beverage.
    In April 2004 a study was published in the journal “Blood”, which shows that green tea has killing powers in the unpredictable and slow form of B cell leukemia. A component in green tea called epigallocatechin (EGCG) disturbs the chemical information flow in leukemia cells in lab cultures.

    It means that the communication between the cells is disturbed, and cancer cells cannot multiply.

    Dr. Neil Kay of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. is confident that the compound EGCG will be of benefit especially in the treatment of early-stage patients.
    In the meantime, a flavorful soothing cup of green tea has its benefits.

    More info on leukemia: http://nethealthbook.com/cancer-overview/leukemia/

    Based on National Review of Medicine (Canada), April 30,2004

    Green Tea Knocks Out Leukemia Cells

    Green Tea Knocks Out Leukemia Cells

    Last edited October 26, 2014

    May
    01
    2004

    Chronic Inflammation Causes Cancer, Heart Attacks And More

    When the Time Magazine devotes 7 full pages in the March 22, 2004 issue to the topic of inflammation as the source of most of the diseases of the Western World, you know that something important is happening in medicine. Christine Gorman and Alice Park have summarized some of the groundbreaking research of the past few years in this article. I will report about this article here, but also include direct links regarding some of the relevant research the authors have mentioned including some of the key links regarding the metabolic syndrome, which was not mentioned in the article.

    Since the beginning of the obesity wave in North America it has become obvious that a cluster of diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, Alzheimer disease, cancer of the colon, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and others have also become more frequent. Dr. Paul Ridker, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was one of the pioneers of investigating inflammation as a possible cause and the common denominator of these diverse illnesses. He noticed that certain patients got heart attacks although their blood LDL cholesterol levels (the “bad” cholesterol) were normal. The theory at that time was that all patients who would develop heart attacks would come from a high-risk group of patients with elevated LDL cholesterol. The problem was that 50% of patients with heart attacks had normal LDL cholesterol levels. Dr. Ridker suspected that the C-reactive protein (CRP), which is found to be elevated in the blood of rheumatoid patients, would be somehow involved in the disease process of hardening of the arteries before a heart attack would occur. CRP is produced by the liver cells and by the lining cells of arteries in response to a general inflammatory reaction in the body. Examples of this would be rheumatoid arthritis patients and patients with autoimmune diseases, where CRP levels can be readily measured with a blood test. Dr. Ridker found that there was a very good correlation between the CRP level and the degree of inflammation as well as the risk for developing heart attacks and strokes. Further investigation by others confirmed that CRP levels were perhaps more important than LDL levels in predicting impending heart attacks. This is so, because CRP is the body’s substance in the blood stream that would be responsible for breaking up LDL containing deposits (plaques) in the walls of the arteries, which leads to heart attacks in the heart and to strokes in the brain.

    Chronic Inflammation Causes Cancer, Heart Attacks And More

    Chronic Inflammation Causes Cancer, Heart Attacks And More

    Other investigators found that CRP was only one link in a complex chain of events that includes inflammatory substances (cytokines) from the fat cells as well as insulin and insulin-like growth factors from the metabolic syndrome. Leptins are also a factor as has been discussed under this link.
    Dr. Steve Shoelsen from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston has developed a mouse model for the metabolic syndrome. These mice will produce huge amounts of inflammatory substances in their fatty tissue in response to any inflammatory process that is started in them. Anti-inflammatory drugs such as the statins or metformin, it is hoped, will be shown conclusively to dampen the inflammatory process and prevent heart attacks, strokes and diabetes as well as cancer, Alzheimers disease and arthritis. Heart disease has already been shown to be improved by anti-inflammatory drugs. Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the small bronchial tubes, which can be stabilized with the anti-inflammatory drug Avastin.

    What can we do as consumers to prevent some of those life-threatening diseases? By reducing our weight through calorie restriction on a low-glycemic diet we can help to reduce the insulin-like hormone substances of the fatty tissue. Regular exercise of at least 30 minutes of a brisk walk daily or the equivalent of other sports activities will half our risk for colon cancer and many other cancers. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables as well as fish and fish oils will reduce the amount of free radicals in our system cutting down on the circulating inflammatory substances. This prolongs life, prevents all of the major diseases of modern civilization and leads to longevity as the study of the Okinawa diet has shown.

    Based on an article in the Time Magazine, March 22, 2004 edition, page 54 to 60.

    Here is a chapter on arteriosclerosis from the Net Health Book, which explains inflammatory changes of the arterial wall:

    http://nethealthbook.com/cardiovascular-disease/heart-disease/atherosclerosis-the-missing-link-between-strokes-and-heart-attacks/

    Last edited October 26, 2014

    May
    01
    2004

    Sugar And Starchy Foods Cause Colorectal Cancer

    A study from the Harvard University involving 38,000 women and having been started in 1993 has surprised the researchers. They wanted to find out whether there were certain foods that may cause colon and rectal cancer. So they administered a “food-frequency” questionnaire with 131 questions to women 45 years or older who entered into the study. Such factors as low-dose aspirin, vitamin E and beta-carotene were included in the questionnaire as was the exact food composition for the year prior to enrolment into the study.

    A sugar load (glycemic load) was calculated. This way the impact of various sugar and starch containing foods could be assessed and compared among different subgroups regarding the later development of cancer in the colon and rectum.
    When Dr. Susan Higginbotham and Dr. Simin Liu analyzed the diets of the 174 patients who did develop cancer (26 rectal cancers, 148 colon cancers) they found that the women with the highest sugar and starch load were 3 times more likely to develop cancer than the controls with a low glycemic load. High glycemic load foods are candy, cakes, cookies; any other refined flour products including white bread, pasta, French fries and baked potatoes. Together with other literature in this field the authors of this study concluded that the high glycemic food load leads to increased insulin levels in the blood as well as insulin-like growth factors. This in turn leads to cell division in normal and cancerous cells including the lining of the colon and rectum. In addition it is known that the C-reactive protein promotes an inflammatory response that will lead to heart attacks and to cancer.

    Sugar And Starchy Foods Cause Colorectal Cancer

    Sugar And Starchy Foods Cause Colorectal Cancer

    Dr. Bob Bruce from the University of Toronto has shown in his research on colon cancer that insulin and related factors are important in the promotion of this cancer. He commented regarding the Harvard study reviewed here that more research is required before the exact cause of cancer of the colon and rectum would be understood. This knowledge is required before more effective preventative measures can be found other than a simple reduction of sugar and starch in the foods we eat.

    Based on the Feb.4 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (U.S.) and the National Review of Medicine (Canada) March 15, 2004.

    More info about Colorectal cancer can be found through this link.

    Last edited October 26, 2014

    May
    01
    2004

    Age-Related Macular Degeneration Can Be Postponed

    In a well-controlled study that was published earlier in 2004 Dr. Johanna M. Seddon

    has shown that age-related blindness (AMD) is caused from an inflammation in the blood vessels, which is associated with an elevated blood marker, called C-reactive protein (CRP). The authors of this study also showed that the dry form of AMD would tend to deteriorate with age and/or from smoking cigarettes into the more serious wet form, a common cause of blindness.

    The inflammatory component of cardiovascular disease is known to be controlled by the use of aspirin (ASA) or the statins, medication that is known to lower the bad LDL cholesterol. It is with this background that the author of the study that I am reviewing here, Dr. Jacque L. Duncan from the University of California at San Francisco, has examined the effects of ASA and of statins on AMD. 326 patients with AMD (204 with dry AMD, 104 with wet AMD from blood vessels forming underneath the retina and 18 with geographic atrophy) were followed between January 1990 and March 2003. Patients were at least 60 years old or older and followed at the San Francisco VA Hospital Eye Clinic.
    Dr. Duncan found that patients with blindness due to wet AMD used ASA or statins significantly less than patients with stable AMD. Moreover, he found that patients who had AMD and took statins were 49% less likely to develop wet AMD and if they took ASA the were 37% less likely to develop wet AMD.

    Age-Related Macular Degeneration Can Be Postponed

    Age-Related Macular Degeneration Can Be Postponed

    The study also suggests that there is a link between the inflammatory process that leads to heart attacks and strokes on the one hand and the further deterioration to blindness when dry AMD is not treated on the other hand. The notion that inflammation is the missing link in both of these processes is a relatively new finding.

    More information about Macular Degeneration here.

    Based on article by Dr. Jacque L. Duncan in the American Journal of Ophthalmology 2004;137: 615-624.

    Last edited October 26, 2014

    May
    01
    2004

    Physicians Use New Technology (GCFP) To Study Blood Flow

    Researchers at the Duke University Medical Center have developed a new non-invasive method of visualizing blood flow through blood vessels of patients. It is a modification of the well-known MRI scan technology where a magnetic field realigns the center of hydrogen atoms (protons) during the time of the examination and the differences of the tissue and fluid qualities are reflected in the images created by this technology. This new application depicting moving blood in blood vessels is called “global coherent free procession” (GCFP).

    The principle is that the investigator can focus on an area of a blood vessel upstream of the area to be examined and tag a portion of the blood flowing through with an energy pulse. As the blood continues to flow through the area of interest, the protons give off the energy again without any changes to the body fluids or the blood cells and the MRI scanner picks up the images of the blood flow through the blood vessel.
    The advantage of this technique is that it is done without any catheters (it is non-invasive), there is no need for any contrast material to be injected and there are no X-rays needed. At the present time this is the only diagnostic technology available for examining a patient’s blood flow through the heart and its vessels in real time, which is very valuable for physicians (cardiologists).
    Here is a link to the Duke University publication

    Physicians Use New Technology (GCFP) To Study Blood Flow

    Physicians Use New Technology (GCFP) To Study Blood Flow

    Based on an article in the April 13, 2004 issue of The Medical Post , Vol.40, No. 15, p.5.

    PS. When checked on Nov. 5, 2012 this procedure has not been widely accepted in medical circles. It seems to be still more of a research tool.

    Last edited December 8, 2012

    Apr
    01
    2004

    Sucking Bite Does Not Remove Venom

    How often have you heard the story that you should suck out the venom from a snakebite or insect bite. Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco have put this to the test. They injected a “mock venom”, which mimicked the composition of a venom without the poisonous effect, into eight male volunteers. This mock venom was radioactively labelled, so it could be traced. A vacuum pump, which simulated the sucking out of the wound, was applied after a few minutes and the amount of venom extraction was calculated by measuring the radioactivity of the extracted mock venom. To the surprise of the researchers only 2% of the mock venom had been sucked out on average.

    Venom alert: Attempting to suck out a bite wound will not remove enough venom to make any difference for the total body venom load. It is much more important to not waste any time by applying a tight tourniquet above the bite wound (between the bite and the heart) and to call for an ambulance to rush the patient to the nearest Emergency Department where antitoxin for the venom treatment is available. To suck out a wound would only add mouth bacteria to the wound and could result in serious infections in addition to the poison.

    Sucking Bite Does Not Remove Venom

    Sucking Bite Does Not Remove Venom

    Medical Post, Vol.40, No.12, March 23, 2004 (page 66).

    Last edited December 8, 2012

    Apr
    01
    2004

    Breast Cancer And Miscarriages; Fear-Mongering Debunked

    For many years there were conflicting reports about the emotionally charged topic of whether miscarriages (=spontaneous abortions) or induced abortions (also simply known as abortions) would lead to an increased risk for these women later in life. The problem was that the studies could not be directly compared because they differed in size, in age group and whether the women had one or more children or none.

    The studies also differed in respect to whether they were prospective or restrospective. In this context a prospective study is one where it was known at the outset before the women developed breast cancer whether or not there was a history of a spontaneous or induced abortion in the past. A retrospective study would be one where a group of women with established breast cancer would be asked retrospectively whether or not they had a history of abortions (spontaneous or induced).

    It turns out that the discrepancies between these studies in the past were largely because of the significant difference between the data of the unreliable retrospective studies and the very reliable prospective studies.

    On March 27, 2004 the Lancet reported about a study that had been undertaken by the Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer (seat of the Secretariat in Oxford, England). This study involved hundreds of scientists and clinicians from the major Cancer Clinics around the world who gathered the world-wide epidemiological evidence about breast cancer and pooled the data regarding 53 studies from 16 countries.

    Breast Cancer And Miscarriages; Fear-Mongering Debunked

    Breast Cancer And Miscarriages; Fear-Mongering Debunked

    A total of 83,000 women with breast cancer around the world had been included in this study. The data was separated into sub-categories. For instance, 44,000 women were included in the prospective branch of the study and 33,000 in the retrospective branch. The data was carefully controlled for the factors mentioned above and many other differences to ensure that the data could be compared (rules of evidence-based medicine).

    The surprise finding was that there was no statistical difference regarding the risk for developing breast cancer in the prospective branch of the study between the group of women who never were pregnant, those who had one or more children and those who had miscarriages or abortions in the past. However, the retrospective studies reported a higher incidence of breast cancer because of an observer bias. The researchers and clinicians concluded that the data of the restrospective studies were unreliable because they were not carefully controlled and there likely was more reliable reporting of the women who had developed breast cancer than the control groups who likely underreported their histories thus resulting in misleading conclusions.

    Summary: Women do not have a higher risk of developing breast cancer following spontaneous or induced abortions. Forget all of the fear-mongering that you may have heard in the past in the popular press.

    More information about causes of breast  cancer: http://nethealthbook.com/cancer-overview/breast-cancer/causes-breast-cancer/

    Lancet 2004; 363: 1007-16.

    Last edited October 26, 2014

    Apr
    01
    2004

    Lycopene Of Tomatoes Fights Cancer Cells

    Dr. John Erdman Jr. from the University of Illinois has done epidemiological studies that suggest that the red color of tomatoes, which is provided by lycopenes, is only effective against prostate cancer, if the whole tomato is consumed.

    The professor of food science and human nutrition found that other phytochemicals in the tomato act in concert with lycopene to protect against cancer. To prove this more conclusively, he designed an experiment involving 194 rats with prostate cancer into three groups.

    Group 1 was the control group without any detectable lycopene in their diet. Group 2 was fed the control diet with purified lycopene. Group 3 was fed the control diet with ground-up tomato paste (with seeds and skins). Group 3 was the only group where the risk of dying from prostate cancer was reduced by 30%. Group 2 rats had the same high death rates as the control group. These results were recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

    Dr. Erdman concluded that taking lycopene is not as effective as eating the whole tomato to prevent cancer of the prostate. He also suggested to use whole tomato products in tomato juice, in salads, pasta and pizzas.

    Lycopene Of Tomatoes Fights Cancer Cells

    Lycopene Of Tomatoes Fights Cancer Cells

    Based on an article in the Medical Post, Vol 40, No.8, Feb.24, 2004 (page 33).

    Link to prostate cancer chapter of the Net Health Book.

    Last edited December 8, 2012

    Apr
    01
    2004

    Acupuncture For Headaches Found Effective

    For many years it was merely a clinical impression that some headache sufferers were helped by acupuncture. Over the years many attempted to show that acupuncture works for headaches, but the studies were done with too few patients to reach statistically meaningful results.

    In a recent English study that was published by Andrew J Vickers et al. in the British Medical Journal on March 27, 2004 patients were randomly assigned to a conventional headache treatment protocol or to treatment with acupuncture. 401 patients were enrolled in this randomized study and the patients came from general practitioners in Wales and England. The patients all had similarly severe headaches or chronic headaches and had mainly migraines, but also tension type headaches. Several universities took part in the design of the study to ensure that the Cochrane criteria of evidence based medicine were adhered to. Headaches were measured according to a score that consisted of detailed standardized questionaires. Treatment with acupuncture consisted of 12 treatments over 3 months. The control headache group was treated with the usual care.

    The headache sufferers were assessed at the 12 month point. There were significant differences in favor of the acupuncture treated patients. The acupuncture group had on average 22 fewer days of headaches per year than the control group. This resulted in 15% less medication use, 25% fewer doctor visits and 15% fewer sick days.

    Acupuncture For Headaches Found Effective

    Acupuncture For Headaches Found Effective

    Acupuncture treated headache sufferers felt physically more active, they had more energy and they felt a positive change in their health.

    More information about causes of headaches: http://nethealthbook.com/neurology-neurological-disease/common-causes-headaches/

    British Medical Journal: BMJ 2004;328:744 (27 March).

    Last edited October 26, 2014

    Apr
    01
    2004

    Less Death Rates From Breast Cancer With Exercise

    At the 95th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando / Fla. the results of a study regarding the effect of exercise on breast cancer survival rates was presented. Dr. Michelle D. Holmes and co-workers (Harvard University in Boston) reported about data from the Nurses’ Health Study. About 2000 patients with breast cancer were identified in the period of 1984 to 1996 who were followed until the end of 2002. At that time 209 had died from their breast cancer. The investigators were able to control the data for all the other factors such as smoking, obesity, and many other factors except for the amount of exercise per week that these women were doing. The highest risk group was the one that did not exercise and the death rate of this group was set as 100% as can be seen in this table, which I constructed based on the published data.

    The various groups as indicated on the bottom of the table were the hours exercised per week from 0 hours to more than 15 hours per week (this was expressed as metabolic equivalent of a brisk walk). It can be seen that survival from breast cancer can be influenced by as little as 3 to 9 hours of a brisk walk per week (about 20% reduction in death rate) and reaches a plateau at 9 to 15 hours of exercise per week (around 50% reduction in death rate).

    Less Death Rates From Breast Cancer With Exercise

    Less Death Rates From Breast Cancer With Exercise

    The authors of the study said that when the data was expressed as recurrence of breast cancer, the same results were obtained. This study would indicate that even 30 minutes of exercise per day will reduce mortality in a patient with breast cancer. Also, it is known from other studies that exercise will be more effective in terms of cancer prevention in general including prevention of breast cancer.

    Percentage of breast cancer death rates decreases with exercise (hours of exercise per week depicted)

    Less Death Rates From Breast Cancer With Exercise1

    Breast Cancer Death Rate Decreases With Exercise

     

    Link to breast cancer chapter of the Net Health Book.

    Link to Fitness: http://nethealthbook.com/health-nutrition-and-fitness/fitness/

    Last edited October 26, 2014