Wolf Creek, Greenville, CA August 22, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Monet's waters, Wolf Creek
Wolf Creek, Greenville, CA August 22, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Skin creams seen to cause tumors on mice
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Certain commonly available skin creams may cause skin tumors, at least in mice, and experts should be checking to see if they might cause growths in people as well, researchers reported on Thursday.
They found several creams caused skin cancer in the specially bred mice, which had been pre-treated with ultraviolet radiation.
The cancers are not melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, they stressed in their report in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, but another type called squamous cell carcinoma. Such tumours are slow growing, highly treatable and only fatal if patients fail to have them removed.
Allan Conney and colleagues at Rutgers University in New Jersey said they discovered the risk while testing a theory that caffeine could prevent skin cancer.
"We sort of got into this by accident," Conney said in a telephone interview. "We wanted a safe cream that we could put the caffeine into."
They were testing specially bred albino mice, which are prone to develop skin cancer. The mice are pre-treated with ultraviolet radiation to simulate the effects of a human who has had heavy sun exposure in the past but then stopped -- something that may be happening in the population as people realize the risks of getting a tan.
Conney's team decided to test the creams first and found that all four they tested caused tumors to grow on the mice.
He said he does not know why, but suspects two ingredients -- mineral oil and sodium laurel sulphate.
"We'd like to understand the mechanism. What is most important is to see whether these moisturizing creams are tumorigenic in people," Conney said.
He said his lab is not equipped to do this but someone should. But he added, "I don't think that people should be scared because this is a mouse study and we don't know whether or not it applies to humans."
Other experts were skeptical about the study.
"This is a pretty artificial situation with the mouse skin primed by a lot of UV light to develop cancer," Karol Sikora, Medical Director of Cancer Partners U.K. in Britain, said in a statement.
Dr. Jonathan Rees, an expert in dermatology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, said squamous cell carcinoma was not a big health worry.
"Non-melanoma skin cancer in man is very, very common and is almost 100 percent curable with an operation usually simpler than a tooth filling," Rees said in a statement.
Conney said the mouse was a commonly used model in skin cancer but said he agreed that it does not perfectly replicate human skin and human behavior.
He said his team approached Johnson & Johnson to create a cream without the suspect products and they developed one using other readily available ingredients. "They are things that are commonly used in many moisturizing creams," he said.
This cream did not cause the tumors in the mice, they said.
He said Rutgers and Johnson & Johnson had patented the new cream jointly but did not know whether it would be commercially developed. A spokesman at the company was not immediately available for comment.
(Editing by Will Dunham and Vicki Allen)
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Cattle now fed chips and chocolate...
Cheap Beef fed on Potato chips and Hershey's, yum...
As corn prices are going up, large scale factory farm operations are looking for cheaper foods to feed cattle. Cost-cutting measures like mixing reject M&Ms and potato chips with corn feed are no longer uncommon.
In the meantime, cattle ranchers raising grass-fed beef are struggling to stay in business, as more people are buying the cheap stuff. The Wall Street Journal recently released a news video on the issue.
As corn prices are going up, large scale factory farm operations are looking for cheaper foods to feed cattle. Cost-cutting measures like mixing reject M&Ms and potato chips with corn feed are no longer uncommon.
In the meantime, cattle ranchers raising grass-fed beef are struggling to stay in business, as more people are buying the cheap stuff. The Wall Street Journal recently released a news video on the issue.
Why eat sweet potatoes?
The deep orange-yellow color of sweet potatoes tells you that they're high in the antioxidant beta carotene. Food sources of beta carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A, may help slow the aging process and reduce the risk of some cancers. Sweet potatoes are also good sources of fiber, vitamins B-6, C and E, folate and potassium. They're fat-free and low in calorie density, meaning you can have a larger portion size without racking up the calories.
Healthy lifestyle tips from MayoClinic.com.
Healthy lifestyle tips from MayoClinic.com.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Broccoli and reversal of diabetes complications
Nutrition-wise blog
With Mayo Clinic nutritionists Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
Fascinating connection between broccoli and reversal of diabetes complications
"Activation of NF-E2-related factor-2 reverses biochemical dysfunction of endothelial cells induced by hyperglycemia linked to vascular disease."
Huh? It didn't catch my attention until the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) ran the story on Aug. 5 and translated it as: "Broccoli may undo diabetes damage."
This very interesting study looked at the phytochemical (plant compound) called sulforaphane. It seems to help produce enzymes in the body that protect blood vessels by reducing tissue damaging substances triggered by high blood sugar. Sulforaphane also seems to activate genes that regulate protective antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes.
Vascular disease is a major complication of diabetes. It leads to heart disease, stroke, damage to small vessels of the eye (blindness), kidney (failure that leads to dialysis), and circulation to extremities and possible amputation.
This isn't the first news about broccoli. In 2006, another broccoli compound was found to help boost genes that prevent damaged genetic information from being passed on to future generations of cells, thereby offering potential reduction in cancer risk.
In 2007, a nutrition study of men who had prostate cancer showed that a weekly serving of broccoli cut risk for the aggressive form of the disease by 45 percent.
In 2008, researchers found in an animal study that sulforaphane in broccoli protects the heart from damage when it is deprived of oxygen (such as what occurs when a coronary artery is blocked by a clot).
What makes the diabetes study so compelling is that it seems to actually identify mechanisms that the compound sulforaphane in broccoli trigger that may allow reversal of high blood sugar damage.
All of the studies point out the need for further research. They also point out that generous servings of vegetables and fruit (at least 5 a day) gets you going in the right direction.
So, you think you want the benefits of broccoli but don't care for it? Broccoli is a member of the Brassica group of vegetables in the mustard family. Here are "close relatives" of broccoli that you might want to include in your 5-(or more)-a-day:
- Root vegetables — rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi
- Leafy vegetables — cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, rapini, collard greens, bok choy, napa (Chinese cabbage), mustard greens
- Flowers — cauliflower, broccoli, broccoflower
- Seeds — mustard seed and rapeseed (from which canola oil is derived)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
"Stand Up for Cancer" - Sept. 5 TV event
Hollywood A-listers "Stand Up" for Cancer Research
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood A-listers including Meryl Streep and Charlize Theron, sports star Lance Armstrong and "American Idol" winner David Cook will "stand up" to battle cancer in a rare television fundraiser next month, organizers said on Tuesday.
The event, "Stand Up to Cancer," will air simultaneously and commercial-free on three rival U.S. TV networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- during prime-time hours, and organizers hope to raise millions of dollars to fight the disease.
"The support we've received from the creative community is remarkable," said the show's producer Laura Ziskin, a breast cancer survivor who was responsible for making the "Spider-Man" movies, "Pretty Woman" and many other films.
"My phone is constantly ringing with people asking, 'What can I do and how can I help?' We hope viewers all over the country will do the same."
Rarely is a program broadcast on all three major U.S. networks simultaneously during prime-time evening hours, which are the most lucrative times for advertisers.
Back in 2001, some 31 U.S. broadcast and cable TV networks aired a program to raise money for victims of the September 11 attacks. Film, TV and music stars worked at a phone bank as people called to pledge money. Some sang while others gave speeches and testimonials.
"Stand Up to Cancer" will be similar in its format, the producers said.
Other celebrities putting in appearances will include actresses Jennifer Aniston, Salma Hayek and Sally Field.
Even cartoon characters Homer and Marge Simpson of long-running comedy "The Simpsons" and race car driver Danica Patrick will be on hand. From broadcast news, there will be CBS anchor Katie Couric, whose husband died of cancer, as well as NBC's Brian Williams and ABC's Charles Gibson all reporting on cancer research.
September 05, 2008
Length: 1 hour on ABC, CBS, NBC simultaneously
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood A-listers including Meryl Streep and Charlize Theron, sports star Lance Armstrong and "American Idol" winner David Cook will "stand up" to battle cancer in a rare television fundraiser next month, organizers said on Tuesday.
The event, "Stand Up to Cancer," will air simultaneously and commercial-free on three rival U.S. TV networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- during prime-time hours, and organizers hope to raise millions of dollars to fight the disease.
"The support we've received from the creative community is remarkable," said the show's producer Laura Ziskin, a breast cancer survivor who was responsible for making the "Spider-Man" movies, "Pretty Woman" and many other films.
"My phone is constantly ringing with people asking, 'What can I do and how can I help?' We hope viewers all over the country will do the same."
Rarely is a program broadcast on all three major U.S. networks simultaneously during prime-time evening hours, which are the most lucrative times for advertisers.
Back in 2001, some 31 U.S. broadcast and cable TV networks aired a program to raise money for victims of the September 11 attacks. Film, TV and music stars worked at a phone bank as people called to pledge money. Some sang while others gave speeches and testimonials.
"Stand Up to Cancer" will be similar in its format, the producers said.
Other celebrities putting in appearances will include actresses Jennifer Aniston, Salma Hayek and Sally Field.
Even cartoon characters Homer and Marge Simpson of long-running comedy "The Simpsons" and race car driver Danica Patrick will be on hand. From broadcast news, there will be CBS anchor Katie Couric, whose husband died of cancer, as well as NBC's Brian Williams and ABC's Charles Gibson all reporting on cancer research.
September 05, 2008
Length: 1 hour on ABC, CBS, NBC simultaneously
Fruit Juices Block Common Drugs
Grapefruit, Orange, Apple Juices Decrease Absorption of Many Often-Used Drugs
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Aug. 19, 2008 -- Grapefruit, orange, and apple juices block drugs commonly used to treat infections, allergy, transplant rejection, cancer, and high blood pressure.
In 1991, David G. Bailey, PhD, and colleagues found that grapefruit juice increased blood concentrations of the blood pressure drug Plendil to possibly dangerous levels. Grapefruit juice, they later learned, slows down a key liver enzyme that clears Plendil -- and about 40 other drugs -- from the body.
Now Bailey reports that grapefruit, orange, and apple juices decrease the absorption of several important medications:
- The allergy drug Allegra, available generically as fexofenadine
- The antibiotics ciprofloxacin (Cipro, Proquin), levofloxacin (Levaquin), and itraconazole (Sporanox)
- The beta-blocker blood pressure drugs atenolol (Tenormin), celiprolol, and talinolol
- The transplant-rejection drug cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral)
- The cancer chemotherapy etoposide (Toposar, Vepesid)
"This is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure we'll find more and more drugs that are affected this way," Bailey says in a news release.
Bailey revealed the new findings in a report to the 236th annual meeting of the American Chemical Society.
A substance in grapefruit juice called naringin seems to be the culprit. The compound apparently blocks OATP1A2, a transporter molecule in the gut, which carries some drugs from the small intestine into the blood. Orange juice contains hesperidin, a naringin-like substance. The culprit in apple juice remains unidentified.
"The concern is loss of benefit of medications essential for the treatment of serious medical conditions," Bailey says.
In their studies, Bailey and colleagues had healthy volunteers take fexofenadine with either a glass of grapefruit juice, a glass of water mixed with naringin, or pure water. Taking the drug with grapefruit juice or the naringin mixture halved the amount of drug that reached the bloodstream.
People should take their pills only with water, advises Bailey, a professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. He suggests that people taking medications should check with their doctor or pharmacist before taking medications with fruit juices or whole fruits.
© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
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