STUDY: Asian fruit kills Herpes virus

JOURNAL: J Infect Dis 2000 Aug;53(4):156-61

AUTHORS: Wetprasit N, Threesangsri W, Klamklai N,

ABSTRACT: It appears that the lectin from Jackfruit inhibits herpesvirus.

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COMMENTARY: Jackfruit lectin (JFL) from Artocarpus heterophyllus has been found to

exhibit inhibitory activity in vitro with a cytopathic effect towards

herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), and

cytomegalovirus (CMV).

The 50% inhibitory dose values from plaque reduction assay (inactivation) were 2.5, 5, and 10 Eg/ml of JFL for HSV-2, VZV, and CMV, respectively. Lymphocyte proliferation was significantly increased in the presence of the JFL in the concentration range of 2.5 to 50 Eg/ml, but was reduced at 500 Eg/ml. It was found that CD16(+)/CD56(+) cells (natural killer cells) were induced among the

primary lymphocyte subpopulations.

The activity of natural killer (NK)cells was not affected by JFL in the concentration range of 5 to 500 Eg/ml. These data suggest that JFL is mitogenic for NK lymphocyte(CD16(+)/CD56(+)) and also active against HSV-2, VZV, and CMV.

You can get this fruit at asian grocery stores.

STUDY: Alternative Methods to deal wth the pain of labor

JOURNAL: University Hospital

AUTHORS: Britt-Ingjerd Nesheim, MD; Ragnhild Kinge, RN;

ABSTRACT: Acupuncture during labor reduced the requirement for other painkillers and has high patient satisfaction in this randomized, unblinded, controlled study.

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COMMENTARY: One group received acupuncture (N = 106); another did not (N = 92). A second control group (N = 92), drawn from the labor ward protocol, consisted of patients who met the eligibility criteria for the study and were matched to the "no acupuncture" group by parity, but who had not been offered the opportunity to take part. Outcome measure "effectiveness of acupuncture" was measured by the requirement for use of meperidine.

Meperidine was given to 11% of the acupuncture group, 37% of the no acupuncture group (P < 0.0001), and 29% of the control group.

The use of other analgesics was also lower in the acupuncture group.

Patient satisfaction was high: 89 of 103 patients asked said they would want acupuncture during another labor.

STUDY: Stop Smoking

JOURNAL: Eur J Cancer 2002;38:1520-1525.

AUTHORS: Dr. M. Prochazka

ABSTRACT: An international team of researchers report in the European Journal of Cancer that women with a history of breast cancer have a "significantly increased risk of developing a subsequent lung cancer, possibly related to an interaction between radiotherapy and smoking."

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COMMENTARY: Dr. M. Prochazka of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and colleagues there and at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, set out to analyze the adverse effects of breast cancer therapy in light of prolonged survival in these patients.

Using the Swedish Cancer Registry, the investigators identified approximately 141,000 women with breast cancer diagnosed between 1958 and 1997. The cohort was then followed for the development of lung cancer.

Dr. Prochazka and colleagues found 613 subsequent lung cancer cases among this cohort and "a statistically significant increased risk of lung cancer was seen > 5 years after breast cancer diagnosis, in contrast to a significantly decreased risk in the first 5 years after the breast cancer diagnosis."

Women with a history of breast cancer who continue to smoke may experience an interaction between smoking and radiotherapy that makes them more susceptible to subsequent lung cancer, Dr. Prochazka's group concludes.

STUDY: more frequent examinations needed

JOURNAL: Journal of the American Medical Association

AUTHORS: Robert Schoen

ABSTRACT: Colon cancer can develop more quickly than previously thought.Older adults should undergo more frequent examinations to look for the disease

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COMMENTARY: Colon Cancer, the third most common cause of cancer death in the United States after lung and breast cancer, was found in nearly 1 percent of 9,000 patients who were shown to be free of the disease just three years earlier.

Precancerous polyps were discovered in 14 percent of the returning patients, who averaged 66 years old.

The patients underwent a sigmoidoscopy, in which a doctor guides a camera-equipped tube through the lower portion of the colon to search for cancerous lesions or polyps.

The study's findings suggested the currently recommended five-year interval between sigmoidoscopy exams and the 10-year wait for a more thorough colonoscopy might be too long.

Colon cancer will be diagnosed in nearly 150,000 Americans this year and will kill 57,000.

The study discovered cancer in places that had been looked at three years earlier, indicating "these lesions ... can crop up in a smaller period of time," said Robert Schoen, who led the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

STUDY: Stress reduction a must

JOURNAL: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

AUTHORS: Kiecolt-Glaser

ABSTRACT: It's no surprise that constant stress can make people sick, and now a team of researchers has figured out how.

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COMMENTARY: A study focused on 119 men and women who were taking care of spouses with dementia.

The health of the caregivers was compared with that of 106 people of similar ages who were not living under the stress of constant care giving.

Blood tests showed that a chemical called Interleukin-6 sharply increased in the blood of the stressed caregivers compared with blood of the others in the test.

Previous studies have associated IL-6 with several diseases, including heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, type-2 diabetes and certain cancers.

The study also found the increase in IL-6 can linger in caregivers for as long as three years after a caregiver had ceased that role because of the spouse's death. Of the test group, 78 spouses died during the survey.

"This really makes a link to why chronic stress can actually kill people," said Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State University. "We haven't had a good mechanism before."

She explained that people under stress tend to respond by doing things that can increase their levels of IL-6.

For example, they may smoke or overeat; smoking raises IL-6 levels, and the chemical is secreted by fat cells. Stressed people also may not get enough exercise or sleep, she added. Exercise reduces IL-6, she said, and normal sleep helps regulate levels of the chemical.

It clearly points to the need to control stress better, she said.