STUDY: Genetic variations predict breast cancer risk

JOURNAL: Nature Genetics, 4 March 2002

AUTHORS: P D P PHAROAH, A ANTONIOU, M BOBROW, R L ZIMMERN, D F EASTON & B A J PONDER

ABSTRACT: Oral-contraceptive use and family history are among the factors physicians use to identify women who are at higher risk for developing breast cancer. But a woman's genetic makeup is a better predictor, according to a study published online by Nature Genetics.

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COMMENTARY: Genetic risk profiles, which are based on variations in gene sequences between individuals, may provide substantial improvements in identifying women who should take part in disease-prevention programmes.

Breast cancer, similar to many other common diseases, runs in families. Mutation of a few genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2 for example, are associated with high risk of developing cancer, but these account for only a small proportion of all breast cancer cases. Paul Pharoah and colleagues at the Strangeways Research Laboratories in Cambridge, England, looked at the incidence of breast cancer in relatives of cancer patients and determined that, in most cases, predisposition to developing cancer results from mutations in many genes, each of which bestows a small risk. The authors argue that, assuming that all the genes that contribute to breast cancer are found, genetic analysis will be able to identify women with a higher-than-average risk of developing the disease, and that these women should account for 88% of all breast cancer cases.

Even if only half the genes involved are identified, genetic analysis could substantially improve the efficacy of population-based cancer-prevention programmes.

STUDY:

JOURNAL: International Journal of Impotence Research

AUTHORS:

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of bicycle saddle shape on penile blood flow during cycling. Penile blood flow was measured using a laser Doppler flowmeter in 20 potent male volunteers.

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COMMENTARY: In a counterbalanced, crossover design, measurements were taken in the standing and sitting positions, on either a narrow unpadded or wide unpadded saddle, before and after cycling for 5 min...

The narrow saddle is associated with more significant reductions in penile blood flow and could be a source of blunt perineal trauma, potentially leading to erectile dysfunction.

STUDY: Encouraging individuals to increase their intake of fruit and vegetables increases plasma antioxidant levels and decreases blood pressure.

JOURNAL: Lancet 2002

AUTHORS: Dr. Andrew Neil

ABSTRACT: Results of a randomised trial show that encouraging individuals to increase their intake of fruit and vegetables increases plasma antioxidant levels and decreases blood pressure.

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COMMENTARY: This finding, published by The Lancet, suggests that such a diet might reduce cardiovascular disease in the general population.

Dr. Andrew Neil and colleagues from the University of Oxford, UK, randomly assigned 690 healthy individuals, 25 to 64 years of age, to a program that encouraged them to increase fruit and vegetable consumption to at least five servings per day, or to no intervention.

During 6 months of follow-up, those in the intervention group had significant increases in plasma concentrations of alpha-carotene (7% from baseline), beta-carotene (7%), lutein (4%), beta-cryptoxanthin (25%) and ascorbic acid (7%), compared with controls (significance ranged from p = 0.032 to p = 0.0002), Dr. Neil's team reports.

Systolic blood pressure fell significantly more in the intervention group (4 mm Hg, p < 0.0001) as did diastolic blood pressure (1.5 mm Hg, p = 0.02) compared with controls, the researchers found. There was no difference in the groups in total cholesterol, lycopene, retinol, alpha-tocopherol or gamma-tocopherol, Dr. Neil's group adds.

The UK researchers note that their results "accord with those of the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) trial, in which an increase in dietary fruits and vegetables for 8 weeks reduced systolic blood pressure by 2.8 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.1 mmHg more than a control diet.

Dr. Neil and colleagues conclude that "the falls in blood pressure in our study would be expected to produce small clinical effects, but would substantially reduce cardiovascular disease at the population level."

They add that "a reduction of 2 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure results in a decrease of about 17% in the incidence of hypertension, 6% in the risk of coronary heart disease and 15% in the risk of stroke and transient ischemic attack."

Take home message is to eat lots of veggies and fruit.

STUDY: Which Mosquito Repellants Work Best?

JOURNAL: University of Florida's Vero Beach Research Center

AUTHORS: Dr. Jonathan Day

ABSTRACT: On one side of the annual battle is everybody's least-favorite summer visitor: the mosquito. On the other is Dr. Jonathan Day, one of the nation's foremost medical entomologists.

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COMMENTARY: Day has spent years at the University of Florida's Vero Beach Research Center studying how to keep the mosquitoes off your neck. "People want to be out on their deck enjoying the evening — enjoying the outdoors — and mosquitoes make it virtually impossible for that to happen," Day said.

So how well do the lotions and electronics designed to do battle with mosquitoes really work.

A test was set up called a mosquito cage test. Each "trial" uses 80 hungry females, since the female mosquitoes are the only ones that bite. Brave volunteers stick their arms into the cages, with their bare skin protected only by repellents. Mosquitoes are ferocious insects. In one minute almost every mosquito in this cage will bite an untreated arm.

Mosquito Contro Plus: The first product tested was the "Mosquito Contro Plus" by Lentek. The $20 device looks like a watch, and emits a tiny "buzzz" sound. The company says the sound irritates mosquitoes, and keeps them away.

One volunteer, Anne, tried it first, and the mosquitoes went right for her arm. The mosquitoes landed around the watch, one just landed right on the watch. When another volunteer, Greg, tried it, he fared even worse, and was left with mosquito bites covering his arm. "This isn't slowing them down — isn't stopping them," Day said. "We don't have to do much more." Day's bottom line on the Contro-Plus? "They are a waste of the consumers' money," Day said. Lentek, the company that markets the product, disagreed with Dr. Day.

Off! Botanicals Lotion: Next, they tried out the Off! Botanicals lotion. This type of repellent uses a derivative of eucalyptus oil to shoo away the bugs. The volunteers had good results, half an hour after applying the lotion. But how long would it last? Both the volunteers still had good protection at the 1 hour and 45 minute mark. After 2½ hours, Hilda was still getting some protection, but Nazar wasn’t so lucky. He was bitten 11 times. But Day says the Off! Botanicals did a great job by lasting as long as it did. "The eucalyptus really looks good," Day said.

Off! Deep Woods and the Cutter Skinsations: Like many products on the market, these two contain the chemical repellent N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, better known as "DEET". For 50 years, DEET has been considered the gold standard of repellents. Sure enough, both products offered great protection for our volunteers. Walter, who was using the Cutter Skinsations, did get one bite on his finger, but the difference was visible when he puts his other unprotected arm in with the very same batch of mosquitoes. They basically fed on his arm. Cutter Skinsations, which contains 7 percent DEET, gave the volunteers about one hour of protection. The Off! Deep Woods, which contains 30 percent DEET, lasted more than two hours, and according to Day, can last up to six.

Parents should know, however, that while most experts say DEET products are safe, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children only use products with less than 10 percent DEET.

My advice is always, if the mosquitoes are unbearable on your deck in the evening-go inside. Using chemicals and trying to fight Mother Nature sometimes just isn’t worth it. If you are going to be in the woods the use of repellents becomes more important due to the risk of Lymes disease at least here in the northeast. Try to not touch your mouth with your hands and when you get home was the chemicals off. Remember to spray around your ankles and shoes.

STUDY: Eating nuts, leafy green vegetables and other foods rich in antioxidants such as vitamin E may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.

JOURNAL: Journal of the American Medical Association

AUTHORS: Martha Clare Morris

ABSTRACT: In the latest work to show that vitamins may protect against dementia, new studies suggest that eating nuts, leafy green vegetables and other foods rich in antioxidants such as vitamin E may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.

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COMMENTARY: THE LATEST studies seem to suggest that vitamin-rich foods, but not vitamin supplements, have greater beneficial effects. The researchers, however, said more definitive studies are needed.

The connection, at least, is considered plausible: Antioxidant vitamins have been shown to block the effects of oxygen molecules called free radicals, which can damage cells and are thought to contribute to cancer and heart disease. And lesions typically associated with exposure to free radicals have been found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

One of the studies found strong effects from vitamins E and C. In the other, results from vitamin E foods were more conclusive, but researchers said there was a suggestion vitamin C also provided benefits.

Intake of vitamin C, found in foods such as citrus fruits, also appeared to have offer some protection, but those results were not statistically significant, said lead researcher Martha Clare Morris of Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago.

Morris said participants with the highest vitamin E intake ate amounts that could be obtained from a healthy balanced diet.

There was no protective effect in participants with a gene variation called apoplipoprotein E-4, which has been linked to the development of Alzheimer’s.

SECOND STUDY

The other study, from Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, involved 5,395 people in the Netherlands 55 and older who were followed for an average of about six years.

Alzheimer’s developed in 146 participants. Those with high intakes of vitamins E and C were less likely to become afflicted, regardless of whether they had the gene variation.

Other work has hinted that high levels of the amino acid known as homocysteine may also be associated with Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that folic acid and other B vitamins may offer some protection.

The bottom line is that getting your nutrients from food based materials is more natural. Dr D'Adamo has always been an advocate for getting your nutritional needs from the diet not from pills.

Anyone interested can use the food nutrient database on the website to check which foods contain the highest amounts of vitamin E and C and then check in regards to their individual blood types and needs. This can help you in finding the foods that are right for you.

Good Luck