HIGH CALCIUM DIET, SUN AND WHOLE MILK LINKED TO OVARIAN CANCER

Research from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and and other U.S. health and academic institutions shows a diet high in calcium and low in lactose (milk) may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in African-American women. The work, which appears in the latest edition of the British Journal of Cancer, also found sun exposure in the summer months may reduce the risk of developing the disease in this population.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute.

The associations were evaluated among participants in the African-American Cancer Epidemiology Study, which is an on-going population-based case-control study of ovarian cancer in African-American women in 11 states including New Jersey. 

Investigators found that both lactose intake and consumption of whole milk were significantly associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer risk in African-American women, while skim and low-fat milk were not. No association was found for cheese or yogurt products.

Calcium intake, whether through food and/or supplement, was associated with a decreased risk of disease. While researchers found no association between dietary and supplemental vitamin D intake and ovarian cancer risk. 

Results also showed that increased sun exposure may reduce ovarian cancer risk in this population.

source: science daily

GENE MUTATIONS UNIQUE TO COLON CANCERS IN AFRICAN AMERICANS DISCOVERED

Scientists who last year identified new gene mutations unique to colon cancers in African Americans, have now found that tumours with these mutations are highly aggressive and more likely to recur and metastasize. 

Case Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers, a research collaboration which includes University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University, who last year identified new gene mutations unique to colon cancers in African Americans, have found that tumors with these mutations are highly aggressive and more likely to recur and metastasize. These findings partly may explain why African Americans have the highest incidence and death rates of any group for this disease.  

The study will be printed in the December 2016 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) by members of a research team that a year ago found 15 genes in African Americans that are rarely or never detected as mutated in colon cancers from Caucasians. The current study investigated the outcomes associated with these mutations in African American colorectal cancer. This study is significant because it helps shed further light on why colorectal cancers are more aggressive in African Americans. 

The researchers examined 66 patients who had stage I -- III colorectal cancer and found those patients positive for the mutations had an almost three times higher rate of metastatic disease, and stage III patients positive with mutations were nearly three times more likely to relapse compared to patients without the mutations.

Source: science daily

EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD BULLYING MAY PERSIST FOR LONG

Childhood bullying inflicts the same longstanding psychological trauma on girls as severe physical or sexual abuse. A recent study of 480 college freshmen showed harmful effects of bullying may linger for years, negatively affecting victims' mental health well into young adulthood.

Participants in the study were assessed on their exposure to a variety of traumatic experiences -- including bullying, cyberbullying and crimes such as robbery, sexual assault, and domestic and community violence -- from birth through age 17. Students also reported on their psychological functioning and symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The students who experienced bullying as children reported significantly greater levels of mental health problems than their peers.

SELENIUM STATUS LINKED TO CANCER RISK

As a nutritional trace element, selenium forms an essential part of our diet. In collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer, researchers from Charité -- Universitätsmedizin Berlin have been able to show that high blood selenium levels are associated with a decreased risk of developing liver cancer. In addition to other risk factors, the study also examines in how far selenium levels may influence the development of other types of cancer. Results from this study have been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Selenium is found in foods like garlic, fish, shellfish, meat, milk and eggs. It is a trace element that occurs naturally in soil and plants, and enters the bodies of humans and animals via the food they ingest.

Selenium deficiency is identified as a risk factor for a range of diseases. Selenium deficiency is a major risk factor for liver cancer. Selenium anticarcinogenesis can be conceptualized as a multi-tiered process whereby chemical/biochemical actions of Se metabolites are translated into changes in cancer risk by intermediate molecular and cellular mechanisms.

This study does not show that selenium supplementation has a direct protective effect against liver cancer. However, it does confirm the importance of a balanced diet, of which selenium forms an integral part. Previous studies had suggested a similar relationship between a person's selenium status and their risk of developing colon cancer, as well as their risk of developing autoimmune thyroid disease.

TIME OF THE DAY INFLUENCE OUR RISK TO INFECTION

We are more susceptible to infection at certain times of the day as our body clock affects the ability of viruses to replicate and spread between cells, suggests new research. The findings may help explain why shift workers, whose body clocks are routinely disrupted, are more prone to health problems, including infections and chronic disease.

 

When a virus enters our body, it hijacks the machinery and resources in our cells to help it replicate and spread throughout the body. However, the resources on offer fluctuate throughout the day, partly in response to our circadian rhythms -- in effect, our body clock. Circadian rhythms control many aspects of our physiology and bodily functions -- from our sleep patterns to body temperature, and from our immune systems to the release of hormones. These cycles are controlled by a number of genes, including Bmal1 and Clock.

This suggest that shift workers, who work some nights and rest some nights and so have a disrupted body clock, will be more susceptible to viral diseases. If so, then they could be prime candidates for receiving the annual flu vaccines.

MALE CONTRACEPTIVE PILLS: ARE YOU READY?

Male contraceptives are methods of preventing pregnancy that primarily involve the male physiology. In the past 50 years, there have been few changes in male contraception compared with the range of options available to women. Today, the only contraceptive methods available to men are: condoms – a barrier form of contraception that stops sperm reaching and fertilizing an egg. 

A new male contraceptive could be on the horizon after scientists identified a novel way to block the transport of sperm during ejaculation.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science scientists have found that complete male infertility could be achieved by blocking two proteins found on the smooth muscle cells that trigger the transport of sperm.

The researchers demonstrated that the absence of two proteins in mouse models, α1A-adrenoceptor and P2X1-purinoceptor, which mediate sperm transport, caused infertility, without effects on long-term sexual behaviour or function. This  knowledge could be applied to the potential development of a contraceptive pill for men.

Previous strategies have focused on hormonal targets or mechanisms that produce dysfunctional sperm incapable of fertilization, but they often interfere with male sexual activity and cause long term irreversible effects on fertility.

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TATTOO AND CANCER: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

With the increasing acceptance of tattooing, it is important to consider the possible health effects tattoos have on your body − especially any increased risks for cancer.

Permanent tattoos are made by using needles to inject coloured inks below the skin’s surface. Inks are less likely than before to contain inorganic salts such as mercury, cadmium, and cobalt. 

Aluminium, oxygen, titanium, and carbon are common ingredients of tattoo inks irrespective of the colour. Known allergenic metals such as chromium, nickel and cobalt have been found to exceed safe allergic limits.

Health risks associated with tattooing include infections, allergies, scarring, granulomas (small knots or bumps that can form around particles of tattoo pigment), and MRI complications such as swelling or burning when people with tattoos undergo an MRI.

Studies have also shown that benzopyrene, a chemical in black tattoo ink, can induce skin cancer in test animals, while other cancer-causing chemicals can damage collagen.

Nanoparticles, also found in tattoo ink may be capable of evading the body’s natural defense more easily. In fact, black tattoo pigments are almost pure nanoparticles, which have been shown to migrate away from the skin, damage collagen, and accumulate in the spleen and kidneys, with possibly harmful effects for health.