Archive for March, 2010
BPA may be influencing the susceptibility of mammary cancer
March 27th, 2010 | 
Author: Bisphenol-A (BPA) the chemical used to make hard plastics, line cans, and create carbonless receipts, raises the risk of breast cancer in rats and the FDA has raised an alarm about the potential harm BPA can cause; Wisconsin, Minnesota and Connecticut banned its use in children’s products. Environmentalists, public health organizations and child safety advocates are seeking to ban Bisphenol A (BPA). Last year, Chicago became the first city to ban BPA. New study links breast cancer in rat offsprings exposed during pregnancy to BPA.
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exposure to diethyl phthalate (DEP) associated with increased risk of BC
Women with higher exposure to additives used in some personal care and food products may have an increased risk of breast cancer.
Researchers conducting a study of phthalate exposure and breast cancer among Mexican women reported that metabolites of one type of phthalate are associated with at least twice the risk of breast cancer.
Exposure to phthalates has been associated with a number of adverse health outcomes in humans, and particularly in men. Few studies have however investigated the health effects of these widely used chemicals in women. This is the first human study to evaluate associations between exposure to phthalates and breast cancer.
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.0901091
Vitamin D is essential
Vitamin D is known for the maintenance of mineral homeostasis and normal skeletal architecture. However, apart from these traditional calcium-related actions, 1,25- (OH)2D3 and its synthetic analogs are being increasingly recognized for their potent antiproliferative, prodifferentiative, and immunomodulatory activities. Potential therapeutic applications include in inflammation (rheumatoid ar- thritis, psoriatic arthritis), in dermatological indications (pso- riasis, actinic keratosis, seborrheic dermatitis, photoaging), in osteoporosis (postmenopausal and steroid-induced osteopo- rosis), cancers (prostate, colon, breast, myelodysplasia, leu-kemia, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma), secondary hyperparathyroidism, and autoimmune diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and organ transplantation).
The researchers found that immune systems’ killer cells, known as T cells, rely on vitamin D to become active and remain dormant and unaware of the possibility of threat from an infection or pathogen if vitamin D is lacking in the blood. These findings by Danish researchers could help the fight against infectious diseases and global epidemics, they said, and could be particularly useful in the search for new vaccines.
Increase price of fast foods affects behavior toward healthier diets
A new study that followed participants for 20 years shows both weight and risk for diabetes decreased for people in communities where fast food prices increased.
Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted a study using data from more than 5,000 participants who were followed for 20 years. When prices of fast foods and sodas went up 10 percent, participants consumed an average of 7.1 percent fewer calories from soda and 11.5 percent fewer calories from pizza, translating to about 56 fewer calories a day. This could lead to about three to four pounds lost each year.
read more:
http://professional.diabetes.org/News_Display.aspx?TYP=9&CID=77158
Mango Effective in Preventing Certain Cancers
According to a new study by Texas AgriLife Research food scientistsMango fruit has been found to prevent or stop certain colon and breast cancer cells in the lab. Mango showed some impact on lung, leukemia and prostate cancers but was most effective on the most common breast and colon cancers.
Read more:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100111154926.htm
Mitochondrial genomes are not uniform
Mitochondrial genomes are not uniform across cells of the body as previously believed, but vary between different tissue types, according to a study published online today (March 3) inNature.
The findings may affect forensics and the search for biomarkers, both of which utilize mitochondrial DNA.There’s more than one mitochondrial genome present in each one of us and there are variations from tissue to tissue , which may have implications in embryogenesis. It’s unclear why mtDNA is so variable. One reason may be that mitochondria have a higher mutation rate than nuclear DNA
