Archive for April, 2010

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Vitamin K may Protect from Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Friday, April 30th, 2010

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Researchers from Mayo Clinic reported at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research that people who have a higher intake of vitamin K in their diet have a lower risk of developing Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. The study enrolled 603 newly diagnosed Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma patients and 1007 matched cancer-free “controls.” They completed a food questionnaire about their usual intake of 120 food items two years prior to their cancer diagnosis (subjects) or at the time of their enrollment into the program (controls). They were also asked about supplements used and vitamin K was estimated from this data. Based upon the data, the risk of developing Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma was about 45% lower for participants who had vitamin K intakes in the top quartile (>108 ug/day) compared to subjects whose intake was in the bottom quartile (<39 ug/day). This association was consistent when accounting for age, gender, education, obesity, smoking history, alcohol use and intake of foods with high amounts of antioxidants.

Although the association between dietary intake of vitamin K and development of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma was shown, the use of vitamin K supplements showed that increasing intake of vitamin K from supplements did protect against this type of cancer but there was a point beyond which there was no reduction in risk. They suggested that taking high does of supplements are unlikely to be helpful and that the protective effect observed may be due to vitamin K or to some other dietary or lifestyle factors beyond the scope of this study. However, these data add to the literature that supports a diet with lots of green leafy vegetables that prevent many cancers and other diseases.

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Posted in Cancer, nutrition, research | 2 Comments »

Lifting and Back Problems

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

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Recent research published in The Spine Journal (2010, 10 (1):26) concluded that more physical loading (pressure placed on the spine from frequent lifting) may delay disc degeneration, the main suspected cause of severe back pain. Studying identical twins where one of the siblings was an average of 29 pounds heavier than the other he found that loading in the form of extra weight was not harmful to the individual’s spinal discs and there was slightly less disc degeneration in the heavier twin than in the lighter one. The researcher stated that the most prevalent source of physical loading on the spine is body weight.

He concluded that routine physical loading within limits is not bad for discs and that those fearful of physical loading activities at home, work or the gym should gradually increase physical loading to strengthen the spine.

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Posted in back and neck pain | 3 Comments »

Jonathan Goldman to be Guest of Holistic Health Show on Saturday

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

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Dr Carl O Helvie, Host of the Holistic Health Show, will interview Jonathan Goldman on Saturday’s show. Jonathan is an international authority on sound healing and a pioneer in the field of harmonics. He has worked with masters of sound from both the scientific and the spiritual traditions and has been empowered by the Chant Master of the Dalai Lama’s Drepung Loseling Monestery to teach Tibetan Overtone Chanting.
Jonathan is author of Healing Sounds, Shifting Frequencies:The Lost Chord, and Tantra of Sounds: Frequencies of Healing that was coauthored with his wife Andi. He was winner of the 2006 Visionary Award for “Best Alternative Health Book” for his best selling The Seven Secrets of Sound Healing. He is Director of the Sound Healers Association and President of Spirit Music, Inc in Boulder, Colorado. A Grammy nominee, Jonathan has created numerous best-selling, award winning recordings including The Divine Name with Greg Braden, 2012: AscensVisionary Award, Grammy nominee, ion Harmonics and Chakra Chants that was a double winner of Visionary Awards for “Best Healing Meditation Album” and “Album of the Year,” He is a lecturing member of the International Society for Music Medicine and has dedicated his life to the path of service, helping awaken and empower others with the use of sound to heal and transform. He presents Healing Sound lectures, workshops and seminars worldwide. More information is available at www.healingsounds.com

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Posted in music | 2 Comments »

Alcohol during Adolescence May Increase Risk of Breast Cancer

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

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In a study published in the May issue (online April 12, 2010) of Pediatrics researchers reported that girls and young women drinking alcohol increase their risk of benign (non-cancerous) breast disease and that increases their risk of developing breast cancer. Over 9,000 girls from all 50 states who were daughters of participants in the Nurses Health Study II were included and were part of the Growing Up Today Study. Girls were between age 9 and 15 at the start of the study and followed from 1996 to 2007. A total of 6,899 reported on their alcohol consumption and whether they had ever been diagnoses with benign breast disease.

Girls who drank 6 or 7 days a week were 5.5 time more likely to have benign breast disease than those who did not drink or who had less than one drink a week. Subjects who drank 3 to 5 days a week had three times the risk. Thus, the more alcohol consumed, the more likely the subjects were to have benign breast disease. The researchers concluded that those diagnosed with benign breast disease on average drank more often, drank more on each occasion and had an average daily consumption twice that of those who did not have benign breast disease and had more episodes of binge drinking. .

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Posted in breast cancer, research | 1 Comment »

Get Sunshine and Avoid Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

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A new study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives reported more rheumatoid arthritis in women in northern latitudes such as Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine and concluded that this may be a result of less sunshine in these areas which leads to a vitamin D deficiency. The researchers looked at data from the Nurses Health Study and collected residential addresses, health outcomes, and behavioral risk factors for subjects between 1988 and 2002. In the sample 461 women had rheumatoid arthritis compared to 9,220 who did not. In addition to finding more RA in the northern latitudes there was more in those who had lived there longer suggesting that long term exposure to less sunshine may be more important than recent exposure.
Although further research on the relationship of vitamin D deficiency and rheumatoid arthritis is needed, the researchers said the geographic association has also been observed for other autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and Crohn’s disease.

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Posted in research, rheumatoid arthritis | 4 Comments »

Dr Mark Brown, Dr Phillip Cheras and Dr Eugene Lipov Interviewed on the Holistic Health Show

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

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Dr Carl O. Helvie, Host, Holistic Health Show interviewed Dr Mark Brown (top left), Dr Phillip Cheras (top right), and Dr Eugene Lipov (bottom left) yesterday. Dr Brown M.D., PhD is Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and has over 40 years experience caring for patients with neck and back pain. His award winning book is titled “Conquer Back and Neck Pain: Walk it Off.“More information is available on a previous entry on this site and at www.conquerbackandneckpain.com.com

Dr Cheras, PhD, is the Deputy Director of the Australian Center for Complementary Medical Education and Research and has been principle or co-investigator of clinical trials in Complementary Medicine in excess of 5 million dollar. His doctoral research on osteoarthritis received international attention. More information can be found on an earlier blog here. He can be reached through his publicist at: jane@drazninpr.com

Dr Lipov, M.D., a board certified anesthesiologist and pain manager, is Director of Research at Northwest Community Hospital and Medical Director of the Advanced Pain Center. More information was presented on an earlier blog or he can be reached through his publicist at: Lsk1836@comcast.net

The interview from yesterdays show follows.

 
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Posted in back and neck pain, exercise, natural products, osteoarthritis, Podcast, smoking cessation | No Comments »

New Anti-Cancer Drug Kills Cancer Cells By Depriving Energy Supply

Friday, April 16th, 2010

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A paper recently published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry discusses a new cancer drug called OSU-CG12 that is in the experimental stages. It deprives cancer cells of sugar (energy) that they need when they grow rapidly and outstripe their blood supply leaving them short of energy. The principal investigator, Ching-Shih Chen, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Internal Medicine, and Urology at Ohio State University said this “energy restriction may offer a powerful new strategy for treating cancer because it targets a survival mechanism used by many types of cancers.”

The researchers started with a drug developed for type II diabetes that also showed anticancer properties in laboratory experiments called ciglitazone. They altered the structure of the ciglitazone molecule producing OSU-CG12 that increased its activity. Using prostate cancer and breast cancer cell lines they showed that OSU-CG12 was 10 times more effective at killing cancer cells than ciglitazone. It was also 10 times more effective than a second drug, resveratrol, a natural product found in grapes and red wine having weak anticancer activity that also used a restricting energy mechanism with cancer cells. In addition to restricting glucose from entering cancer cells, OSU-CG12 suppressed the cells ability to metabolize the sugar. Deprived of energy, the cancer cells begin consuming themselves accompanied by other biochemical events that lead to the death of the cells by a natural process called apoptosis. Research continues to modify and enhance the efficacy of OSU-CG12.

Posted in breast cancer, Cancer, drugs, natural products, prostate cancer, research | 9 Comments »

TENS Found Not Effective for Chronic Low Back Pain

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

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According to new guidelines published in the December, 2009 issue of Neurology transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) which is used widely for pain management is probably ineffective for chronic low back pain and is,thus, not recommended for low back pain that has persisted for 3 months or longer(chronic). These guidelines are a result of research studies reviewed in which all but one excluded people with known caused of low back pain. The results of the research reviewed showed that TENS did not ease chronic low back pain resulting from causes such as multiple sclerosis, a pinched nerve, scoliosis (severe curvature of the spine), obesity, spondylolisthesis ( severe displacement of a backbone), or had no known cause. The author of the new guidelines, Dr Richard Dubinsky, a researcher at Kansas University Medical Center said there is no benefit for people using TENS for chronic back pain.

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Posted in back and neck pain, research | 6 Comments »

Dr. Mark Brown, Dr. Phillip A Cheras, and Dr. Eugene Lipov to be Interviewed on the Holistic Health Show on Saturday

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

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On Saturday, Dr Carl O Helvie will interview Dr Mark Brown (top left), Dr Phillip Cheras (top right), and Dr Eugene Lipov (lower left).

Dr Brown, M.D., Ph.D. is Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. He has over 40 years experience caring for patients with back and neck pain and his PhD thesis and all of his research devoted to the cause, prevention, and cure of spinal disorders. He is a founding member of the International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine and is also a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, American Orthopaedic Association, Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, the Cervical Spine Research Society, Medical Advisory Board of PinnacleCare, and the North America Spine Society. He serves as a Consultant Reviewer for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery , is on the Board of Associate Editors of Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, is on the Associate Editorial Board of Spine, and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques.
He is the author of Conquer Back and Neck Pain: Walk it Off that was a finalist in the National Best Book Awards in the health, exercise and fitness category and also received the 2008 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award for first place in the “consumer health” category.

Dr Phillip Cheras received his PhD from the University of Queensland in Australia in 1993 and has been an Adjunct Associate Professor with NatMed Research at Southern Cross University in Australia since 2007. He has received international attention for his doctoral research which lead him to propose a new paradigm for the causation of osteoarthritis. He has published his “Vascular Concept of Osteoarthritis Causation” and presented it at numerous international conferences and symposia. In 2001 he was a core member of the team that established the Australian Centre for Complementary Medical Education and Research (ACCMER), a joint venture of the University of Queensland and Southern Cross University, and became the foundation Deputy Director.
Dr Cheras has been the Principal or Co-investigator of clinical trials in complementary medicine valued in excess of $5 million. He has fostered links between the complementary medicine industry, academia, government, and entrepreneurial investors.

Dr Cheras reviews for a wide range of journals and organizations including the Cancer Council of Australia. In 2007, he was appointed as Interim Executive Officer for the newly created national Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) with the University of Western Sydney. He is a consultant to the Complementary and Alternative Industry and has co-authored both national and international reviews.

Dr Eugene Lipov, M.D. is board certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Management. He graduated from Northwestern Medical School in 1984 and attended Rush St Luke’s Medical Center to pursue advanced training in Anesthesiology and Pain Management. He has been on the academic faculty at Rush St Luke’s for more than 5 years.

Dr Lipov is currently the Director of Research, Northwest Community Hospital, and Medical Director, Advanced Pain Center. He has conducted numerous media interviews about his innovative treatment of hot flashes and pain management. He was an instructor for ISIS (International Spine Injection Society) and is a member of ISIS and NASS (North America Spine Society).

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Posted in back and neck pain, complementary, integrative medicine | 7 Comments »

Drug May Reduce Risk of Diagnoses of Prostate Cancer in Men at High Risk

Friday, April 9th, 2010

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Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine on April 1 concluded that dutasteride (Avodart) will decrease the risk by 23% of being diagnosed with prostate cancer in high risk men. This drug is currently used to shrink benign enlarged prostates.

This 4 year study involved 250 sites in 42 countries and included 8,231 men between 50 and 75 years of age who were randomly assigned to receive a placebo or a daily dose of 0.5 mg of Avodart, a drug known to shrink enlarged prostates and often used for BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia). Increased risk in this study meant men who had elevated PSA levels of 2.5ng/ml to 10ng/ml but no evidence of cancer on a biopsy conducted within 6 months of enrollment into the study.

Biopsies were scheduled on the men two years and four years after enrollment into the program. Six hundred fifty nine (19.9%) of the men taking Avodart were diagnosed with prostate cancer compared to 858 men (25.1%) taking the placebo. Among those with family history of prostate cancer, Avodart reduced the relative risk of a prostate diagnoses by 31.4%.

The drug was most effective at reducing the risk of medium-grade tumors that were 5-6 on the Gleason Scale that has a 1 to 10 scale where 10 is the most aggressive. Over the four year study, 70% of all men diagnosed with prostate cancer were within the 5 to 6 range. These included 617 men (18.1%) in the placebo group and 437 men (13.2%) in the avodart group and this was a statistically significant finding. Likewise, there were no significant increase in aggressive high-grade tumors (Gleason 7-10) among men who took the Avodart over the 4 years. However, the researchers concluded that they could not rule out the possibility that some of the more aggressive tumors were at least partly related to the use of Avodart. Read additional results in the original article.

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Posted in prostate cancer, research | 2 Comments »

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