Health News Today

From BBC Health News:

Hope for new way to beat obesity

Obesity is on the rise across the developed world

Scientists believe it could be possible to treat obesity by altering levels of fatty acids in a key area of the brain.

They found reducing fatty acid levels in the hypothalamus caused rats to overeat and become obese.

The study, by a team at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, features in Nature Neuroscience.

It suggests that a therapy which restores fatty acid levels in the hypothalamus may be a promising way to treat obesity.

However, UK experts warned that appetite regulation was a complex area.

Work like this does help to increase our understanding of obesity, and does help us work towards new treatments Dr Ian Campbell

Obesity is a growing problem across the developed world. In the UK, it is thought that 40% of men, and a third of women are either obese or overweight.

Carrying too much weight is linked to a range of health problems, including a greater risk of heart disease and cancer.

The hypothalamus keeps track of the body's nutritional status by monitoring the blood levels of several different hormones and nutrients.

Taking this information into account, it regulates both appetite, and the speed at which the body breaks down nutrients.

Injected virus

The Einstein team had already shown that glucose is one of the substances closely tracked by the hypothalamus.

Now they have found that fatty acids too are on the organ's checklist.

The researchers focused on a particular fatty acid molecule called malonyl CoA.

They injected a virus on to which was attached an enzyme known to break down malonyl CoA into the hypothalamus of lab rats.

The injections caused a drop in malonyl CoA levels, which led to the rats gorging themselves. The effect lasted for at least four months.

Lead researcher Dr Luciano Rossetti said: "We showed in this study that disrupting malonyl-CoA levels in this region of the brain impairs the nutrient-sensing mechanism by which the hypothalamus modulates food intake to maintain normal weight.

"Figuring out a way to re-adjust malonyl-CoA levels in the human hypothalamus could lead to innovative therapies not only to treat obesity but to help prevent diabetes and other consequences of being overweight."

Complex issue

Dr Ian Campbell, a weight management expert and former chairman of the UK National Obesity Forum, told the BBC News website that research of this kind underlined just what a complex issue obesity was.

"It is not just about greed and laziness," he said.

"There seem to be many underlying physiological factors.

"Clearly we are a long way off being able to prescribe a drug based on this research.

"But work like this does help to increase our understanding of obesity, and does help us work towards new treatments."

Dr Campbell stressed that the best way to combat obesity was to control one's weight through exercise and a sensible diet.

Professor Ian MacDonald, of the University of Nottingham, agreed that it was simplistic to draw too many conclusions from one piece of research.

He said it would be difficult to produce a drug that targeted its effect specifically at the hypothalamus, and that any effect on human appetite that could be produced was likely to be minimal.

Exercise now to cut dementia risk

The exercise should be enough to make you sweaty and breathless

Exercising for half an hour at least twice a week during midlife can significantly cut a person's risk of dementia later, say researchers.

People in their late 40s and early 50s who do this could reduce their risk of dementia by about 50%, according to a study reported in Lancet Neurology.

Those who are genetically prone to Alzheimer's disease could see a reduction of about 60%, it adds.

The Swedish team said the findings had large disease prevention implications.

Protective effect

"If an individual adopts an active lifestyle in youth and at midlife, this may increase their probability of enjoying both physically and cognitively vital years in later life," they said.

Past studies have also suggested regular exercise might guard against dementia, however, this is one of the first to look at the effects over a long time scale - about two decades.

The authors say this is important because dementia takes many years to develop and is typically quite advanced when it is diagnosed.

This study backs up the evidence so far  A spokeswoman from the Alzheimer's Research Trust

The study involved nearly 1,500 men and women, of whom nearly 200 developed dementia or Alzheimer's disease between the ages of 65 and 79.

The researchers looked back at how physically active the study participants had been up to 21 years earlier, when they would have been in their late 40s and early 50s.

Those who developed Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia were far less likely to have been active when they were middle-aged than those who remained free of dementia.

Good for the brain

The amount of exercise that appeared to be necessary to be protective was physical activity which lasted 20-30 minutes at least twice a week and which was enough to cause breathlessness and sweating.

People are generally recommended to take moderate aerobic exercise for 20-30 minutes three to five times a week for a healthy heart and lungs.

Dr Miia Kivipelto and colleagues said there were many reasons why exercise might be good for the brain as well as the rest of the body.

For example, regular exercise could help keep the small blood vessels of the brain healthy as well as protecting against other conditions that might make dementia more likely, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Memory

Exercise might also reduce the amount of the protein amyloid that builds up in the brain in Alzheimer's disease.

Physical activity also affects genes and compounds important for maintaining good cognition and memory.

It might be that people who exercise tend to live healthier lifestyles in general, such as drinking less alcohol and refraining from smoking, they said.

However, when they took into account such health risk factors, the findings remained the same, suggesting that exercise per se is beneficial for the brain.

A spokeswoman from the Alzheimer's Research Trust said: "This study backs up the evidence so far.

"Studies seem to suggest that leading a healthy lifestyle - exercising regularly and eating a balanced diet - helps protect against dementia."

She said more research was needed, particularly as the condition was becoming increasingly common since the proportion of older people in society was increasing.

A few cigarettes a day 'deadly'

Doctors warn that any amount of smoking is dangerous

Smoking just one to four cigarettes a day almost triples a person's risk of dying of heart disease, according to Norwegian researchers.

Their work suggests the health impact is stronger for women and that even "light" smokers face similar diseases to heavier smokers, including cancer.

The team tracked the health and death rates of almost 43,000 men and women from the mid 1970s up to 2002.

Their findings appear in the journal Tobacco Control.

Lung cancer

Compared with those who had never smoked, the men and women who smoked between one and four cigarettes a day were almost three times as likely to die of coronary artery disease.

Among women, smoking one to four cigarettes daily increased the chance of dying from lung cancer almost five times.

Men who smoked this amount were almost three times as likely to be killed by lung cancer.

However, due to the relatively small number of men that this applied to in the study sample, this finding could have been due to chance.

There is no safe level of smoking Amanda Sandford from ASH

So-called "light" smokers were also found to have a significantly higher risk of dying from any cause - 1.5 times higher generally - than those who had never smoked, when researchers looked at deaths among those studied over the duration of the research.

Death rates from all causes rose as the number of cigarettes smoked every day increased.

Sporadic smoking

The researchers believe their conclusions are accurate, even though they had to estimate the projected impact of smoking one to four cigarettes for five years in those light smokers who had smoked for less time.

This indicated that the risk of death from coronary artery disease for both sexes would have been 7% higher, and the risk of lung cancer would have been 47% higher in women.

A significant proportion of the light smokers had also increased their daily consumption over the period of the study. However, this had not exceeded nine cigarettes a day.

The only way to protect smokers from heart disease, cancer and other killer diseases is to quit completely A spokesman from the British Medical Association

Author Dr Kjell Bjartveit also pointed out that it was not possible to tell from the findings what impact sporadic smoking - such as a few cigarettes on a Saturday night out - might have on health.

Dr Ken Denson of the Thame Thrombosis and Haemostasis Research Foundation questioned the validity of the figures.

He said other large studies had not found that smoking fewer than 10 cigarettes daily increased the risk of heart disease.

'No safe level'

Amanda Sandford from Action on Smoking and Health said the conclusions were clear.

"This study should dispel the myth once and for all that smoking just a few cigarettes a day won't do you any harm.

"Quite simply, there is no safe level of smoking."

A spokesman from the British Medical Association said: "All smokers are putting their health on the line when they smoke - even if they only define themselves as social smokers.

"The only way to protect smokers from heart disease, cancer and other killer diseases is to quit completely."

The Department of Health estimates 106,000 people die every year in the UK as a direct result of smoking. It said quitting was the only way to avoid the serious health risks.

Jean King of Cancer Research UK said: "Although more research is needed, this study suggests that the health implications for 'light smokers' are much more serious than previously thought.

"This is particularly worrying as a third of smokers in the UK - an estimated 3.7 million people - smoke less than 10 cigarettes a day."

Hope over 'repairing' sun cream

More than 2,000 people die in the UK from skin cancer each year

US scientists say they have developed a lotion which repairs sun damaged skin.

The lotion, currently undergoing clinical trials, contains a protein which mends DNA damaged by the sun.

AGI Dermatics said tests had shown the cream cut skin cancer rates when used daily for a year on people who were susceptible to the disease.

Experts said it may encourage people to spend longer in the sun. AGI Dermatics stressed the cream was no alternative to sunscreen.

Skin cancer kills more than 2,000 people a year in the UK.

Oil sacs in the lotion allow a protein called T4 endonuclease to penetrate the skin cells.

One of the main concerns is that this could lead to a laissez-faire attitude to sun care Dr Mark Matfield, of the Association of International Cancer Research

Once inside a cell's nucleus, the protein removes damaged areas of DNA and starts a repair process that the body completes.

The lotion and the protein enter cells within an hour of application and produces measurable results within six hours, researchers from the New York firm told the American Chemical Society's annual conference.

The lotion was tested on 30 people with a rare genetic disease, xeroderma pigmentosum, that made them more susceptible to skin cancer.

Daily application of the lotion resulted in a third fewer skin cancers and two thirds fewer pre-cancer lesions than in those who did not use it.

Lead researcher Daniel Yarosh said the cream had the potential to be used widespread in the fight to protect skin against the sun.

"This is the first DNA repair drug and is a 'morning after' approach that is different than other sun protection efforts."

Concern

But Dr Mark Matfield, scientific consultant at the International Association of Cancer Research, said while the cream should not be dismissed as it showed potential, the causes of skin cancer were complicated and not fully understood so this treatment would probably not be the answer for all forms of the disease.

And he added: "One of the main concerns is that this could lead to a laissez-faire attitude to sun care.

"People may think we can repair the damage, but the truth is that it is better to prevent it in the first place."

And Julie Sharp, senior science information officer for Cancer Research UK, said: "It should not be seen as a shortcut way of repairing the skin damage caused by sun bathing.

"Preventing skin cancer in the first place is vital and we recommend people take care to protect themselves by avoiding sunburn, finding shade from the mid-day sun, covering up and using a high-factor sunscreen."

Red clover may combat hot flashes

Red clover contains hormone-mimicking chemicals

Scientists are testing an extract of red clover as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy for symptoms of the menopause, such as hot flashes.

The extract contains chemicals called isoflavones, which mimic the effects of the female sex hormone oestrogen.

A study will be carried out by Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital's menopause and PMS centre.

Use of HRT has declined in recent years following suggestions of an increased risk of stroke and breast cancer.

Guidance issued last year by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists concluded that HRT should only be used for short term relief of menopausal symptoms.

The Queen Charlotte team hope their work will provide women with an effective alternative.

Lead researcher Dr Chun Ng said: "We hope the product may help women with menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, and also those with premenstrual syndrome.

"Problems such as hot flushes have a negative impact on quality of life, although many women simply suffer in silence.

"Since the scares about HRT, some patients are just not taking anything at all."

Respiratory remedy

Red clover is used as a herbal remedy for respiratory problems, particularly whooping cough.

It is also marketed as a treatment for chronic skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.

The Queen Charlotte team will also test a second treatment, using low doses of a compound known as desvenlafaxine succinate, which is thought to stabilise the body's heat control mechanism.

Professor David Purdie, of the Centre for Metabolic Disease at Hull University, told the BBC News website, an alternative therapy would be useful for women who either could not or would not take oestrogen-based HRT.

However, he stressed that taking oestrogen was currently by far the best way to tackle menopausal symptoms.

"There is evidence that long-term use of combined oestrogen and progesterone therapy does carry a slight increased risk of breast cancer, although the risk is probably much less for oestrogen-only therapy," he said.

"This has to be put into context. We are talking about just a few cases per 1,000 women over five years.

"Women have to decide whether the better quality of life HRT can offer them outweighs the small increased risks."

Professor Purdie also said the effects of oestrogen-like substances taken from plants had been hyped up somewhat.

He said trials of their effect had to be tightly controlled as previous studies had shown that women with menopausal symptoms often responded positively to dummy treatments.

Obesity 'could cut US life spans'

One in three Americans are obese, experts say

The obesity epidemic in the US may cut life expectancy, a study says.

Researchers said based on the current obesity levels life spans could fall by between four months and nine months.

If the rise in obesity - 50% a decade in both the 1980s and 1990s - was not stopped, the team said it could fall by two to five years within decades.

One in three Americans are now obese and the largest increases have been seen in children, the team led by the University of Illinois said.

The report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, warned obesity could cut an individual's life expectancy by between five and 20 years as it increased the risk of dying early from heart disease, diabetes, cancer and kidney failure.

Obesity has clearly become a major personal and public health problem for Americans Samuel Preston, of the University of Pennsylvania

The average American has a life expectancy of 77.6 years after almost 200 years of continuous increases.

But report co-author David Ludwig said that could be about to change.

"The long-term consequences of the child obesity epidemic have yet to be seen.

"The tsunami of childhood obesity has not yet hit the shore - it takes many years for complications to develop.

"If the clock starts ticking at age 12 or 14, the consequences to public health are potentially disastrous - imagine heart attack or kidney failure becoming a relatively common condition of young adulthood."

A nine-month fall in life span would be greater than the negative effect of all deaths from accidents, murder and suicide, the report said.

'Excessively gloomy'

But Samuel Preston, of the University of Pennsylvania, writing in an editorial for the journal, said the projections may be "excessively gloomy" because many Americans were beginning to wake up to the problem and adopt healthier lifestyles.

He added: "Obesity has clearly become a major personal and public health problem for Americans. It affects many aspects of our society."

Other areas of the world also have a growing obesity problem.

South Africa has similar levels of obesity as the US.

About 25% of the people living in the Middle East are obese or overweight, while obesity has risen by 100% among Japanese men since 1982.

In the UK, one in five people are obese and experts have warned the situation is getting worse.

The British government has proposed a series of measure to combat obesity, including restrictions on junk food advertising to children and a coding system to identify healthy food.


Oily fish helps cut inflammation

Mackerel contains essential oils

Scientists have discovered why a diet high in oily fish like salmon and mackerel may help improve inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.

They have found a key anti-inflammatory fat in humans is derived from a fatty acid found in fish oil.

The researchers, from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, found the diet worked best when combined with low aspirin doses.

Details are published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Since we obtained these results I started to encourage my own children to eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids Dr Charles Serhan

The inflammatory response protects the body against infection and injury, but when it goes wrong it can lead to conditions such as arthritis, and cardiovascular disease.

The Harvard team identified a new class of fats in the human body, called resolvins, which they showed can control inflammation.

They do this both by stopping the migration of inflammatory cells to sites of inflammation, and the turning on of other inflammatory cells.

Resolvins are made from the omega-3 fatty acids, found in high concentration in oily fish.

Their production also appears to be stimulated by taking aspirin.

One form of resolvin - E1 - is thought to play a particularly significant role in controlling inflammation.

The researchers identified this specific fat in blood plasma samples taken from volunteers given omega-3 fatty acids and aspirin.

Lead researcher Dr Charles Serhan told the BBC News: "Since we obtained these results I started to encourage my own children to eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids."

Drug concern

The study also reveals a potential pitfall of COX-2 inhibitors, drugs designed to block inflammation, which have been shown to have negative cardiovascular side effects.

The enzyme COX-2 is involved in making resolvin E1, and the researchers suspect that taking the drugs may disrupt the body's ability to synthesise the fat.

Thus, while the drugs are designed to reduce inflammation, it is possible that they actually undermine one of the body's most important methods for achieving the same effect.

However, the researchers stress the experiment to prove this idea has yet to be done with humans.

A spokesperson for the Arthritis Research Campaign said: "A number of studies have suggested that oily fish can help people with inflammatory arthritis, and this new study appears to confirm this.

"Our charity has also funded a small preliminary study which shows that oily fish or fish oil capsules can also play a part in reducing the pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis - a degenerative type of arthritis.

From BBC Health News:

Illicit drug sales booming online

The internet has replaced the street corner for illicit drugs sales

The worldwide trade in illegal drugs sold over the internet has surged, according to the UN's drug watchdog.
Dangerous drugs are being sold without prescription in a virtual marketplace that is difficult to control, says the International Narcotics Control Board.
In its annual report, it says that 90% of online drugs sales take place without a medical prescription.
Legal suppliers were fuelling the trade, it says, by providing unlicensed internet pharmacies with drugs.
The INCB warn the web is increasingly a source of illicit drugs for children offering access which is not restricted by age.
"The illicit trade over the internet has been identified as one of the major sources for prescription medicines abused by children and adolescents in certain countries such as the United States," it says.
Mind-altering drugs
The US, it says, remains the largest market in the world for illegal drugs with 8.2% of its population of 293 million people using them.
The most common sales are of mind-altering substances such as amphetamines.
"Billions of [doses of] controlled substances - some of them highly potent drugs such as oxycodone, equivalent to morphine, and fentanyl, which is many times stronger than morphine - are being sold by unlicensed internet pharmacies."
The INCB called for better co-operation between governments, international organisations and the pharmaceutical industry.
The report also highlighted that drug abuse and trafficking was a growing problem in many African countries.
It cited a marked increase in the use of intravenous drugs - such as heroin - in eastern and southern Africa and said this could have serious ramifications for the spread of HIV and Aids.
The INCB also said it was worried by Afghanistan's opium production.
The country now supplies three-quarters of the world's heroin as well being a major source of cannabis resin.

From BBC Health News:

Mental Health Link to Diet Change

Changes to diet are being linked to a range of mental health problems

Changes to diets over the last 50 years may be playing a key role in the rise of mental illness, a study says.

Food campaigners Sustain and the Mental Health Foundation said the way food was now produced had altered the balance of key nutrients people consume.

The period has also seen the UK population eating less fresh food and more saturated fats and sugars.

They said this is leading to depression and memory problems, but food experts said the research was not conclusive.

Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: "We are well aware of the effect of diet upon our physical health.

DIET AND MENTAL HEALTH Depression - Linked to low intakes of fish - high in omega-3 fatty acids which are essential for good brain health Schizophrenia - Epidemiological evidence has shown sufferers have lower levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, unclear though what changes need to address this Alzheimer's disease - Some studies have suggested high vegetable consumption can protect against the brain disorder ADHD - Research shown children with disorder are low in iron and fatty acids

"But we are only just beginning to understand how the brain as an organ is influenced by the nutrients it derives from the foods we eat and how diets have an impact on our mental health."

And he added that addressing mental health problems with changes in diet was showing better results in some cases than using drugs or counselling.

The report, Feeding Minds, pointed out the delicate balance of minerals, vitamins and essential fats consumed had changed in the past five decades.

Researchers said the proliferation of industrialised farming had introduced pesticides and altered the body fat composition of animals due to the diet they are now fed.

For example, the report said chickens reach their slaughter weight twice as fast as they did 30 years ago, increasing the fat content from 2% to 22%.

The diet has also altered the balance of vital fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 in chickens which the brain needs to ensure it functions properly.

Fats

In contrast, saturated fats, consumption of which has been increasing with the boom in ready meals, act to slow down the brain's working process.

The report said people were eating 34% less vegetables and two-thirds less fish - the main source of omega-3 fatty acids - than they were 50 years ago.

Such changes, the study said, could be linked to depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Alzheimer's disease.

The two groups urged people to adopt healthier diets, with more fresh vegetables, fruit and fish, and called on the government to raise awareness about the issue.

Report researcher Courtney Van de Weyer said: "The good news is that the diet for a healthy mind is the same as the diet for a healthy body.

"The bad news is that, unless there is a radical overhaul of food and farming policies there won't be healthy and nutritious foods available in the future for people to eat."

Rebecca Foster, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, said: "The evidence associating mental health and nutrient intake is in its infancy, this is a very difficult association to research and in many cases results are subjective.

"Therefore, it is difficult to draw conclusions about the association between mental illness and dietary intake at this point.

"However, the nutrient recommendations outlined in this report are in line with recommendations for good health, which should continue to be advocated by all health professionals."

Broccoli is one of the foods which contains folic acid

Eating plenty of folic acid - found in oranges, lemons and green vegetables - can halve the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a study has suggested.

US National Institute on Aging experts monitored diets over seven years.

They found adults who ate the daily recommended allowance of folates (B vitamin nutrients) had a reduced risk of the disease.

UK researchers said the study added weight to previous suggestions folates could reduce Alzheimer's risk.

The evidence for the benefit of other vitamins in changing the prospects for somebody at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease is not consistent; the evidence supporting folate intake is very convincing Dr Susanne Sorensen, Alzheimer's Society

The study is published in Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.

Folates have already been proven to reduce birth defects, and research suggests that they are beneficial to warding off heart disease and strokes.

They have also been shown to help modify levels of homocysteine - an amino acid found in the blood.

Previous research has linked high levels of homocysteine to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Dietary benefits

In this latest US study, doctors analysed data on the diets of 579 people aged 60 or over from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging to identify the relationship between dietary factors and Alzheimer's disease risk.

None of the participants were showing signs of dementia when the study began.

Over the course of the study, participants provided detailed diaries documenting their eating habits, including supplement intakes and calorie amounts for typical seven-day periods.

Researchers examined the amounts of nutrients including vitamins E, C, B6, B12, carotenoids and folic acid in people's diets.

Fifty-seven of the original participants went on to develop Alzheimer's.

The researchers found those who consumed at least the recommended daily amount of 400 micrograms of folic acid had a 55% reduced risk of going on to develop Alzheimer's compared to those consuming under that amount.

However, most of those were taking folic acid supplements, suggesting they did not consume sufficient quantities of the nutrient in their diet.

It is estimated that the average person in Britain consumes around 200mcg per day.

The US study found no link between taking vitamin C, carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) or vitamin B-12 and decreased Alzheimer's risk.

'Further evidence'

Dr Maria Corrada, who led the research, said: "Although folates appear to be more beneficial than other nutrients, the primary message should be that overall healthy diets seem to have an impact on limiting Alzheimer's disease risk."

Dr Claudia Kawas, who also worked on the research, said: "It is still possible that other unmeasured factors also may be responsible for this reduction in risk.

"People with a high intake of one nutrient are likely to have a high intake of several other nutrients and may generally have a healthy lifestyle."

Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the UK's Alzheimer's Society, said: "This study adds further weight to evidence that folates reduce the risk of people developing Alzheimer's disease.

She added: "Whereas the evidence for the benefit of other vitamins in changing the prospects for somebody at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease is not consistent; the evidence supporting folate intake is very convincing."

Tiny tubes are implanted in cancer cells

Nanotechnology has been harnessed to kill cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.

The technique works by inserting microscopic synthetic rods called carbon nanotubules into cancer cells.

When the rods are exposed to near-infra red light from a laser they heat up, killing the cell, while cells without rods are left unscathed.

Details of the Stanford University work are published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researcher Dr Hongjie Dai said: "One of the longstanding problems in medicine is how to cure cancer without harming normal body tissue.

"Standard chemotherapy destroys cancer cells and normal cells alike.

"That's why patients often lose their hair and suffer numerous other side effects.

"For us, the Holy Grail would be finding a way to selectively kill cancer cells and not damage healthy ones."

Many in cell

The carbon nanotubules used by the Stanford team are only half the width of a DNA molecule, and thousands can easily fit inside a typical cell.

Under normal circumstances near-infra red light passes through the body harmlessly.

But the Stanford team found that if they placed a solution of carbon nanotubules under a near-infra red laser beam, the solution heated up to about 70C in two minutes.

They then placed the tubules inside cells, and found they were quickly destroyed by the heat generated by the laser beam.

Dr Dai said: "It's actually quite simple and amazing. We're using an intrinsic property of nanotubes to develop a weapon that kills cancer."

The next step was to find a way to introduce the nantubules into cancer cells, but not healthy cells.

The researchers did this by taking advantage of the fact that, unlike normal cells, the surface of cancer cells is covered with receptors for a vitamin known as folate.

They coated the nanotubules with folate molecules, making it easy for them to pass into cancer cells, but unable to bind with their healthy cousins.

Exposure to the laser duly killed off the diseased cells, but left the healthy ones untouched.

Refined technique

The researchers believe it should be possible to refine the technique still further, for instance by attaching an antibody to a nanotubule to target a particular kind of cancer cell.

They have already started work on tailoring the technique to target lymphoma in mice.

Dr Emma Knight, of the charity Cancer Research UK, said: "Nanotechnology has a lot to offer biomedical science, and the results of this paper suggest yet another way in which it may help in the fight against cancer.

"However, this work is still at a very early stage. The researchers have shown that near-infra red light can cause nanotubes to produce heat that can kill cancer cells.

"But their work so far has focused on cells that have been grown in culture in the laboratory.

Damage to the optic nerve is permanent

Scientists say they have completely regenerated damaged optic nerves from the eye to the brain in mice.

Experts say the work offers new hope for people with glaucoma, a condition in which raised pressure destroys the optic nerve.

It may also eventually help people with spinal cord and other injuries of the central nervous system, they say.

The research, by Boston's Schepens Eye Research Institute, is published in the Journal of Cell Science.

It certainly holds the promise that further research could lead to a technique that might revolutionise the treatment of people with serious visual impairment or even blindness from glaucoma David Wright

Lead researcher Dr Dong Feng Chen said: "This is the closest science has come to regenerating so many nerve fibres over a long distance to reach their targets, and to repair a nerve previously considered irreparably damaged."

Many tissues in the body continually renew themselves if injured.

But the optic nerve, along with other tissues of the central nervous system, does not have this ability, so damage is permanent.

Switched off gene

The Schepens team had already discovered that the optic nerve's inability to regenerate was linked to the fact that a key gene called BCL-2 is switched off.

They also believed the regeneration process was blocked by the creation, shortly after birth, of a scar on the brain by specialised glial cells.

These cells have many functions in the brain, one of which is to create this kind of scar tissue.

Potentially the scar puts up a physical as well as molecular barrier to regeneration.

The researchers bred mice in which the BCL-2 gene was always turned on.

They found the animals were able to regenerate optic nerve tissue quickly - but only when they were young, and before their brains had developed the glial scar.

Once the scar had formed, regeneration failed again.

The researchers next bred mice in which not only was the BCL-2 gene turned on, but the ability to produce a glial scar was reduced.

This time even the older animals were able to regenerate damaged optic nerve tissue.

Dr Chen said: "We could see that at least 40% of the optic nerve had been restored, but we believe that an even higher percentage was actually regenerated."

Other applications

The next step will be to determine whether the regenerated nerves were functional.

The researchers believe the combined BCL-2 and scar prevention technique could work to regenerate other central nervous system tissue - increasing the possibility that spinal cord patients could walk again.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Robert Read, of the US Department of Defense, said the research had tremendous potential to help wounded service personnel.

"Fifteen percent of all wartime injuries include the eye and those with optic nerve trauma are the most grave," he said.

"Today's medicine has little effective treatment to offer and blindness is often the end result."

Professor Peng Tee Khaw, an expert in glaucoma at Moorfields Eye Hospital, in London, told the BBC News website the research was potentially exciting.

However, he said while a young mouse had to regenerate a damaged nerve across only a few millimetres, for a human the distance could be tens of centimetres.

David Wright, chief executive of the International Glaucoma Association, said treatments for the condition currently focused on trying to prevent further damage to the optic nerve.

"The regeneration of optic nerve fibres has always been considered impossible due to the fundamental difference between these nerves, which are essentially an outgrowth of the brain itself and the other sensory and motor nerve fibres which occur throughout the body," he said.

"This research paper reports what I believe to be the first instance of optic nerve fibre regeneration.

"While it is obviously a long way from research in mice to a technique that may be applicable to people with glaucoma or spinal cord injuries, it certainly holds the promise that further research could lead to a technique that might revolutionise the treatment of people with serious visual impairment or even blindness from glaucoma."

 - end BBC Health News

Obesity on the rise! The number of americans who are considered severly obese is going up!  The number has risen from 1 in 200 to 1 in 50.  You are considered  obese if you are 30% above your ideal weight. The report, released by the the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, stated that the typical severely obese man weighs 300 pounds at a height of 5 feet 10 inches, while the typical severely obese woman weighs 250 pounds at a height of 5 feet 4 inches.

Ancient Herbal Remedy for Parkinson's "Rediscovered"! Mucuna beans, an ancient herbal remedy for Parkinson's disease (a disease which involves progressive loss of motor control as evidenced by shaking, poor gait and other motor abnormalities) may be making a comeback.  Mucuna beans are a natural source for L-dopa.  Synthetic L-dopa has been the preferred way to treat Parkinsonism in the United States since the 1960's. However, the synthetic form of L-dopa carries with it symptoms that some would consider as bad as the disease itself.  The worst side effects of synthetic L-dopa include nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, fainting, increased thirst and tremors.  A standardized extract of the mucuna bean, called Zandopa,  is currently being studied in FDA approved clinical trials as an alternative or adjunct to the synthetic form of L-dopa.  The hope here is to find a natural alternative with fewer side effects.  Clinical trials already held in India have shown it to be as effective as drugs like Sinemet with fewer and milder side effects

Eat MoreCalories but Still Lose Weight!  Now, a small but carefully controlled study may indicate Atkins was right: People on low-carb, high-fat diets actually can eat more.

The study, directed by Penelope Greene of the Harvard School of Public Health and presented at a meeting this week of the American Association for the Study of Obesity, found that people eating an extra 300 calories a day on a very low-carb regimen lost just as much during a 12-week study as those on a standard lowfat diet.

Over the course of the study, they consumed an extra 25,000 calories. That should have added up to about seven pounds. But for some reason, it did not. 

Thats good new for us dieters! "A lot of our assumptions about a calorie is a calorie are being challenged," said Marlene Schwartz of Yale. "As scientists, we need to be open-minded."

Others, though, found the data hard to swallow.

"It doesn't make sense, does it?" said Barbara Rolls of Pennsylvania State University. "It violates the laws of thermodynamics. No one has ever found any miraculous metabolic effects."

In the study, 21 overweight volunteers were divided into three categories: Two groups were randomly assigned to either lowfat or low-carb diets with 1,500 calories for women and 1,800 for men; a third group was also low-carb but got an extra 300 calories a day.

The study was unique because all the food was prepared at an upscale Italian restaurant in Cambridge, Mass., so researchers knew exactly what they ate. Most earlier studies simply sent people home with diet plans to follow as best they could.

Several synthetic compounds have been shown to inhibit FAS and induce cancer cell breakdown. Recently other researchers showed that EGCG, a natural compound, could inhibit FAS in chicken liver extracts.

It is thought that EGCG's anticancer effects are due to its ability to block FAS.  In contrast, epicatechin, a chemical similar to EGCG that does not block FAS, did not inhibit cancer cell growth or induce apoptosis.

It appears we have at least one more reason to develop a taste for green tea.

This information was obtained from the International Journal of  Cancer 2003;106:856-862.

Plant Estrogens Don't Relieve Menopausal Symptoms! The Journal of Obstetrics and  Gynecology 2003 Jun; 101:1213-20 released the findings of a double blind study where phytoestrogens (plant based estrogens) were compared with a placebo. The study found that hot flashes, mood, or work capacity (Kupperman index), did not differ significantly after phytoestrogen treatment compared with placebo.  Liver-enzyme levels, hormone parameters, BMI, and blood pressure were also not changed significantly.  The only significant difference was an increase in serum phytoestrogen concentration after phytoestrogen treatment.

Vitamin E May Help Reduce Diabetes Risk

Thu Sep 23, 8:33 PM ET
    
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A daily dose of vitamin E may help delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in people at high risk of the disease, preliminary research suggests.

Researchers in New Zealand found that high-dose vitamin E appeared to temporarily improve insulin resistance -- a precursor to type 2 diabetes -- among 41 overweight adults.

Though the improvement was short-lived, another diabetes risk factor -- elevations in a liver enzyme called alanine transferase -- changed for the better throughout the six-month study.

"These results suggest that vitamin E could have a role to play in delaying the onset of diabetes in at-risk individuals," Dr. Patrick J. Manning and colleagues at the University of Otago in Dunedin report in the journal Diabetes Care.

Some past studies have reached similar conclusions. A recent study found that people whose diets had a healthy dose of antioxidants, including vitamin E, had a lower diabetes risk than those with lower antioxidant intakes. And vitamin E has been shown to help some diabetics gain better control over their blood sugar.

The new study included 80 overweight adults ages 31 to 65. Overweight and obese individuals are at increased risk of developing insulin resistance, in which the body loses sensitivity to the hormone insulin, causing blood sugar levels to soar.

According to Manning's team, excess fat may speed the production of oxygen free radicals, potentially cell-damaging byproducts of normal metabolism. Compounding this, overweight people tend to have low levels of antioxidants, which counter the effects of free radicals. It's hypothesized that the resulting oxidative stress may contribute to insulin resistance.

To see whether vitamin E can alter oxidative stress and insulin resistance, Manning and his colleagues randomly assigned study participants to take either vitamin E or a placebo pill every day for six months. For the first three months, the treatment group took 800 International Units (IU) of vitamin E each day, followed by 1,200 IU per day for the next three months -- doses many times the recommended dietary allowance of 22 IU.

The researchers found that at both the three- and six-month marks, plasma peroxides, which are markers of oxidative stress, had fallen in the vitamin E group. After three months, blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity had also improved, but the gains did not remain through the sixth month.

On the other hand, the researchers found, there was a lasting decline in blood levels of alanine transferase liver enzymes, elevations of which have been tied to a heightened diabetes risk. The liver, the authors note, plays a key role in sugar and insulin metabolism, and is the main site of insulin clearance from the blood.

According to Manning's team, vitamin E may boost insulin sensitivity and decrease diabetes risk in a number of ways, including by reducing oxidative stress to cells and by improving liver function.

However, the researchers note, it's unclear why blood sugar levels and insulin resistance improved only temporarily, when markers of oxidative stress and liver function continued to look better. A larger study, they conclude, is needed to clarify the picture.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, September 2004.