October 15, 2009

Reduced plasma EPA associated with greater all cause mortality following heart attack in women

Life Extensions October 14, 2009

An article published online on September 29, 2009 in Circulation Journal reported the discovery of researchers in Korea of an association between decreased levels of the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in women and a greater risk of dying from all causes over in the period following a heart attack.

The current study included 365 men and 143 women enrolled in the Infarction Prognosis Study registry of acute myocardial infarction. Demographic and clinical information were obtained from participants at the time of their hospital admission for heart attack. Blood samples were analyzed for glucose, lipids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and other factors. The subjects were followed for an average of 16.1 months.

Over the follow-up period, 29 patients died of cardiovascular causes and 7 from noncardiovascular causes. Those who died were older and tended to have a lower body mass index, a history of hypertension, lower total and LDL cholesterol levels and higher C-reactive protein levels. EPA levels in survivors comprised 1.49 percent of total plasma phospholipids, compared to 1.24 percent in nonsurvivors. Reduced EPA levels predicted death from all causes, however, when the subjects were examined by gender, low EPA levels were found to predict mortality only in women.

“This study is the first to show a difference in the prognostic value of blood EPA and DHA levels in acute myocardial infarction using a prospective design,” the authors announce. They attribute the benefit of EPA to its anti-inflammatory effect, which has been found to be greater than DHA in some studies. They note that “the capacity of sex hormones to modify plasma and tissue omega-3 PUFA content may partly explain the gender difference; however, the significance and magnitude of this difference need further investigation.”

http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2009_10.htm#reduced-plasma-EPA-associated-with-greater-all-cause-mortality-following-heart-attack-in-women

 Breast cancer can develop in men, too

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News10-15-09

Oct. 15--BREAST CANCER -- often regarded as a female illness -- can strike women and men alike, and is equally deadly for either gender.

Breast cancer is the exact same condition in both sexes and affectsboth in the same way, though it is far rarer in men than women, said Dr. Joseph Pearson, a McLeod Regional Medical Center surgeon who treats breast cancer in men and women. He also serves as the cancer liaison physician for McLeod to the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer.

Physicians once believed about one out of every 100 instances of breast cancer occurred in men, but now the consensus is the condition is even rarer, with men accounting for one out of every 150 to 200 cases of breast cancer, Pearson said.

"It's pretty unusual," he said. "The average onset age of breast cancer (in men) is about 10 years older than the onset age in women."

Breast cancer occurs most often in men age 65 and older compared with age 55 for most women, Pearson said.

"It's a time when the natural male hormones are on the wane, but there's no reason specifically for men getting breast cancer. There's not an identifiable reason," he said.

As in women, breast cancer presents as a lump in the breast which can usually be felt before it is seen. In men, the lump usually occurs just underneath the nipple and is easier to detect during a physical exam because men have much less breast tissue, Pearson said.

There is no evidence that men are less likely to seek treatment after a breast cancer diagnosis solely because of embarrassment, Pearson said.

But men in general, are less likely to bring any of their medical concerns to a doctor's attention, he said.

"Even if it's something like chest pain, men will just try to tough it out," Pearson said. "Ninety percent of women, however, will be in the doctor's office as soon as they can get an appointment.

"From a public health standpoint, (a man) needs to understand that if he has a lump in his breast then there's a possibility that lump is cancerous," he said. "I'm afraid most men don't have a clue they can get breast cancer."

There is no effective way to prescreen men for breast cancer because they don't have enough breast tissue to warrant a mammogram.

"The best screening is when a man goes for an annual physical exam," Pearson said.

If breast cancer is suspected in a man, then an oncologist will most likely do a needle biopsy, he said.

Most doctors will not use chemotherapy to treat breast cancer in men because breast conservation isn't really a concern with them, Pearson said.

"Most men have no motivation to save whatever breast they have," he said. "Most are treated with a mastectomy."

Just like women, men with breast cancer can pass the gene on to their children, Pearson said.

Though breast cancer is men is rare, there is a condition called gynecomastia that occurs is men and can be mistaken for a cancerous mass. Gynecomastia causes rubbery lumps in the breasts of teenage boys and men older than 60, Pearson said.

Though occurrences of breast cancer in men are rare, men -- especially those over 65 -- should make an effort to educate themselves about the condition, he said.

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8882&Section=Disease

Personalized treatment comes to the forefront

Reading Eagle, Pa. 10-14-09

Oct. 13--While multidisciplinary physician clinics may help in treating some complex cancers, this team approach also is in service of what has been dubbed more personalized care for malignant diseases.

"Personalized care has come to the forefront as recently as three to fi ve years ago," according to Dr. Charles J. Lusch, medical director at the Reading Hospital Regional Cancer Center.

Such care takes into account unique genetic and environmental factors that may require targeted therapies, he said.

"You can have two identical colon cancer cases with identical masses in the same spots, and one patient responds to chemotherapy and targeted drugs and one does not -- what's the diff erence?" Lusch said.

Lusch said what cancer researchers and physicians are learning is that molecular and genetic differences in individual tumors may be so signifi cantly diff erent that they exhibit unique behaviors and responses to treatment.

"Now is the age of targeted therapy, and it's exploding," Lusch said. "Of course, all this has an economic impact in the health field, because there is no point in using a $30, 000-a -day drug on someone if it's not going to work."

Personalized medicine stresses the importance of individualizing all cancer treatments with the help of more precise diagnostic tests, tumor profiling and genetic screening in order to use the most specialized, targeted therapies.

"We are getting more and more technological expertise to pinpoint proper treatment for some cancers, but our other goal over the next several years also must be to elevate the patient experience," Lusch said.

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8877&Section=Disease

In protecting against flu, face masks rank last-US

Last Updated: 2009-10-15 9:08:45 -0400 (Reuters Health)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New guidelines on protecting hospital workers against the H1N1 swine flu stress keeping influenza patients away from others and put protective equipment such as face masks last.

The new guidelines posted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urge hospitals to vaccinate as many staff as possible against H1N1 and to bar entry to visitors with flu-like symptoms.

The best way to protect staff and patients from the virus is to keep it out of the facility, the CDC advises.

"Examples ... include: taking steps to minimize outpatient visits for patients with mild influenza-like illness who do not have risk factors for complications, postponing elective visits by patients with suspected or confirmed influenza until they are no longer infectious, and denying entry to visitors who are sick," the CDC said.

Partitions in waiting rooms can help reduce spread, as can special equipment for airway suction in patients with breathing tubes.

Administrative controls such as required vaccination of staff, keeping sick staff at home, hand hygiene strategies and setting up separate waiting area for patients with flu-like illness can also help, the CDC said.

It said personal protective equipment or PPE ranked last in controlling flu, in part because it only works well when used consistently and properly.

"Careful attention to elimination of potential exposures, engineering controls, and administrative controls will reduce the need to rely on PPE, including respirators," the CDC said.

"This is an especially important consideration during the current year, when shortages of respirators have already been reported by many healthcare facilities."

VACCINATING HEALTHCARE WORKERS

Face masks called the N95 respirators are considered the best protection against viruses but they are in short supply, must be fitted properly and are uncomfortable to wear.

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America praised the decision.

"We could actually put healthcare workers at greater risk by further reducing an already short supply of a device that is needed for high-risk procedures such as bronchoscopy by using it for routine care," said Dr. Mark Rupp of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, who is president of SHEA.

"The best science available leaves no doubt that the best way to protect people is by vaccinating them."

The CDC has advice on encouraging healthcare workers to get vaccinated against H1N1. Usually only about 40 percent of nurses, doctors and technicians are immunized against seasonal influenza.

"To improve adherence, vaccination should be offered to healthcare personnel free of charge and during working hours. Vaccination campaigns with incentives such as lotteries with prizes should be considered. Healthcare facilities should require personnel who refuse vaccination to complete a declination form," the CDC advised.

Liberal sick leave policies will encourage sick workers to stay at home with their germs and signs can remind workers and visitors alike how to avoid spreading germs, it added.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/10/15/eline/links/20091015elin015.html

Chinese herbs show promise for diabetes prevention

Last Updated: 2009-10-14 10:00:17 -0400 (Reuters Health)By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A number of traditional Chinese herbs may help control blood sugar levels in people at high risk of diabetes, a new research review suggests.

The review, which examined 16 clinical trials of 15 different herbal formulations, found that the herbs generally helped lower blood sugar levels in people with "pre-diabetes" -- those with impaired blood-sugar control that can progress to full-blown type 2 diabetes.

When the researchers pooled data from eight of the studies, they found that adding an herbal remedy to lifestyle changes doubled the likelihood of participants' blood sugar levels returning to normal.

What's more, people using the remedies were two-thirds less likely to progress to diabetes during the studies, which ran for an average of nine months.

The findings appear in the Cochrane Library, which is published by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research.

The results, say the researchers, are "quite promising." However, they also stress that the studies had shortcomings in their methods that make it hard to draw firm conclusions.

"There are a lot of herbal medicine products on the shelves, but few have been subjected to a rigorous trial," lead researcher Suzanne J. Grant, of the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at the University of Western Sydney, in Australia, told Reuters Health in an email.

Many of the trials her team examined, she explained, had a "high risk of bias" that can overestimate the effects of the treatments.

The gold standard for proving a treatment's efficacy is a clinical trial where participants are randomly assigned to receive either the real treatment or a placebo, with both the researchers and participants unaware of who is taking the real drug.

Grant's team found that those processes were often absent or not clearly detailed in the trials they reviewed.

So, she said, there is still a need for more rigorous trials before any herbal product can be recommended for diabetes prevention.

The studies included a total of 1,391 men and women with either impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose -- problems in blood-sugar control that lead to sugar levels that are elevated, but not high enough to diagnose diabetes.

The studies tested various Chinese herbal mixes traditionally used for blood-sugar control -- products like Jiangtang Bushen, Xiaoke huaya and Tang Kang yin.

In most trials, the products were added to lifestyle changes and tested against the effects of lifestyle changes alone -- though the specific changes were not detailed in most reports.

Grant suggested that if people with pre-diabetes do want to try an herbal product, they first consult their doctor and, ideally, take any herbs under a guidance of a health provider qualified in herbal medicine.

She pointed out that in traditional Chinese medicine, herbs are recommended based on individuals' unique situations, and not as a one-size-fits-all prescription.

As far as safety, the review found no serious side effects attributed to the herbal products. However, Grant noted, like all medicines, herbs have the potential for unexpected side effects or interactions with other drugs.

SOURCE: Cochrane Library, online October 7, 2009.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/10/14/eline/links/20091014elin003.html

Study charts links between mobile phones, tumors

Last Updated: 2009-10-14 10:42:07 -0400 (Reuters Health)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Studies on whether mobile phones can cause cancer, especially brain tumors, vary widely in quality and there may be some bias in those showing the least risk, researchers reported on Tuesday.

So far it is difficult to demonstrate any link, although the best studies do suggest some association between mobile phone use and cancer, the team led by Dr. Seung-Kwon Myung of South Korea's National Cancer Center found.

Myung and colleagues at Ewha Womans University and Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul and the University of California, Berkeley, examined 23 published studies of more than 37,000 people in what is called a meta-analysis.

They found results often depended on who conducted the study and how well they controlled for bias and other errors.

"We found a large discrepancy in the association between mobile phone use and tumor risk by research group, which is confounded with the methodological quality of the research," they wrote in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The use of mobile and cordless phones has exploded in the past 10 years to an estimated 4.6 billion subscribers worldwide, according to the U.N. International Telecommunication Union.

Research has failed to establish any clear link between use of the devices and several kinds of cancer.

The latest study, supported in part by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, examined cases involving brain tumors and others including tumors of the facial nerves, salivary glands and testicles as well as non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

It found no significant association between the risk of tumors and overall use of mobile phones, including cellular and cordless phones.

MILD RISK

Myung's team said eight studies that employed "high quality" methods to blind participants against bias found a mild increased risk of tumors among people who used mobile phones compared with those who never or rarely did.

An increased risk of benign, not malignant, tumors was also found among people who used the phones for a decade or longer.

The "high quality" studies were funded by the Swedish Work Environment Fund, the Orebro Cancer Fund and the Orebro University Hospital Cancer Fund, Myung's team said.

By contrast, studies that used "low quality" methods to weed out bias found mobile users were at lower risk for tumors than people who rarely used the devices.

Myung's team suggested those results could be marred by random errors and bias because of the quality of the methods.

Funding for some of the lower-quality studies included two industry groups, the Mobile Manufacturers Forum and the Global System for Mobile Communication Association, the researchers said.

Overall, the studies examined were not broad enough to shed light on whether mobile phone use could cause tumors. Myung's team said larger studies of a type called cohort studies are needed to answer that question.

Such studies follow a group of people who share a characteristic, in this case cellphone use, and compare them with other groups over time.

The only cohort study published to date showed no association between mobile phone use and tumors. But the study, conducted in Denmark, relied on telephone subscriptions and did not evaluate actual exposure to mobile phones.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/10/14/eline/links/20091014elin006.html

"Meat kills" poster banned for swine flu link

Last Updated: 2009-10-14 11:00:54 -0400 (Reuters Health)

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - An animal rights poster promoting vegetarianism was banned by Britain's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) on Wednesday for wrongly implying that eating meat caused swine flu.

The agency said the poster -- on which the words "meat kills" and "go vegetarian" were transposed over the names of deadly diseases, of which swine flu featured most prominently -- was misleading and could cause undue fear and distress.

So far, 76 people in England have died from the H1N1 swine flu virus, which the World Health Organisation has classified as a pandemic, as well as a further 10 in Scotland, three in Northern Ireland and one in Wales.

In response to a complaint from a member of the public, UK-based animal rights charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who produced the poster, said it was not intended to suggest that eating meat caused swine flu, but to make people think about the consequences of livestock production and confining animals to factory farms.

PETA said the poster highlighted that reducing meat consumption was one of the best ways to prevent the development and spread of deadly diseases that originated from such practices.

But the ASA noted that of the four diseases referred to on the poster -- E. coli, mad cow, swine flu and MRSA -- only two were known to have originated from eating meat, and said the advert could cause some readers to wrongly infer swine flu could be caught in this way.

"Although we understood the intention was to refer to livestock and meat production rather than just eating meat, we considered that the message was, at best, ambiguous," the ASA said, banning the poster from appearing again in the same form.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/10/14/eline/links/20091014elin007.html

US health worker vaccine fears mirror public doubt

Last Updated: 2009-10-14 16:26:09 -0400 (Reuters Health)

* Government says healthcare workers believe myths

* Some hospitals fight back with mandatory vaccination

* Fears reflect public doubts about vaccines

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hospital and other healthcare workers are at the front of the line to get the new swine flu vaccine, but many are resisting and even fighting vaccination requirements.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot yet say how many are reluctant to have the shots because the campaign has just started. But the number may be significant given that only about 40 percent of U.S. healthcare workers ever get vaccinated against seasonal influenza.

A vaccination requirement sparked protests in New York this month, and already one lawyer has filed suit to allow staffers to opt out.

Healthcare workers, at high risk of infection with influenza, including swine flu, were the first offered the vaccine against H1N1 in many states that have started vaccinating campaigns over the past two weeks.

"It is extremely important that healthcare workers, as well as all hospital staff, get vaccinated for both H1N1 and seasonal flu," said Lynnae Mahaney, president of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Mahaney's organization surveyed pharmacy directors at 341 hospitals across the country and found only 37 percent could report vaccination rates of more than 70 percent at their hospitals.

"That's too low," said Mahaney.

Healthcare workers such as nurses and technicians often have the same fears the general public has about vaccines -- are they tested, can they give you the flu and can they cause side-effects?

The CDC says these fears are based on myths, but doubts persist.

MANDATORY SHOTS

The Infectious Diseases Society of America has asked for all states to mandate vaccinations for healthcare workers.

"Decades of scientific data demonstrate Food and Drug Administration-approved influenza vaccines to be safe, effective, and cost-saving," the group said in a statement.

But the U.S. Health and Human Services Department is stressing that the vaccination campaign is voluntary.

Hospital Corp. of America is requiring healthcare workers to get vaccinated, while MedStar, which operates hospitals in the Baltimore-Washington area, requires all staff, including clerical workers, to be immunized.

New York State requires healthcare workers to be vaccinated against flu, but this week attorney Patricia Finn of Piermont, New York, filed for a temporary restraining order against Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines.

Finn, whose practice specializes in clients who want to be exempt from vaccine requirements, said her suit represents 60,000 healthcare workers.

Last month some healthcare workers protested in the state capital, Albany. "Let's unite to oppose mandatory H1N1 vaccinations," organizers wrote in a Facebook announcement.

British officials are battling similar resistance.

"We all know that uptake of the seasonal flu vaccine among NHS staff is traditionally low," Ian Dalton, director of flu resilience at the National Health Service, wrote in a letter to chief executives and boards of hospitals quoted by the Guardian newspaper.

"It is an NHS board responsibility that we do not find ourselves in this position with the swine flu vaccine."

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/10/14/eline/links/20091014elin012.html

CoQ10 may protect against obesity problems: Study

By Stephen Daniells, 15-Oct-2009

Supplements of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) may protect or retard the development of fatty liver related to obesity, suggest findings from an animal study.

Mice fed a high fat and fructose diet and supplemented with CoQ10 had decreased levels of inflammatory and metabolic stresses markers in their livers than mice just fed the high-fat diet, according to findings published inBiochemical Pharmacology.

The supplements did not have any effect on obesity levels or levels of oxidised fat products in other tissues, added the researchers, led by Nathalie Delzenne from the Catholic University of Leuven.

Vitamin-like

CoQ10 has properties similar to vitamins, but since it is naturally synthesized in the body it is not classed as such. With chemical structure 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-6-decaprenyl-1,4-benzoquinone, it is also known as ubiquinone because of its 'ubiquitous' distribution throughout the human body.

The coenzyme is concentrated in the mitochondria - the 'power plants' of the cell - and plays a vital role in the production of chemical energy by participating in the production of adenosince triphosphate (ATP), the body's co-called 'energy currency'.

There is an ever-growing body of scientific data that shows substantial health benefits of CoQ10 supplementation for people suffering from angina, heart attack and hypertension. The nutrient is also recommended to people on statins to off-set the CoQ-depleting effects of the medication. Other studies have reported that CoQ10 may play a role in the prevention or benefit people already suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.

The new study, suggests the molecule may also improve liver health.

Study details

The Leuven-based researchers, in collaboration with scientists from the University of Witten/Herdecke in Germany, fed mice a control diet, a high-fat diet with fructose, or the same high-fat, fructose diet plus CoQ10 supplements (1 per cent, Kaneka) for eight weeks.

The animals fed the high-fat, fructose diet consumed more energy, and showed higher fat mass development, fasting blood glucose and abnormally high insulin levels.

The high-fat, fructose diet also promoted gene expression in the liver for reactive oxygen species production, inflammation, and metabolism, said the researchers.

In the CoQ10 supplemented animals, however, the researchers noted a decrease in gene expression for the inflammatory and metabolic stresses markers.

“We propose, in view of our study, that CoQ10, when given orally, is able to target the liver tissue, and to lessen inflammatory stress associated with obesity in mice in this tissue, independent on any action on lipid peroxidation,” wrote the researchers. “However, this effect was not sufficient to counteract fat mass development and other metabolic alterations occurring upon obesity,” they concluded.

Source: Biochemical Pharmacology
Volume 78, Issue 11, Pages 1391-1400
“Coenzyme Q10 supplementation lowers hepatic oxidative stress andinflammationassociated with diet-induced obesity in mice”
Authors: F.M. Sohet, A.M. Neyrinck, B.D. Pachikian, F.C. de Backer, L.B. Bindels, P. Niklowitz, T. Menke, P.D. Cani, N.M. Delzenne

Resistant starch and wheat bran may boost bowel habits

By Stephen Daniells, 15-Oct-2009

Increased intakes of resistant starch and wheat bran may improve regular bowel habits in healthy adults, say findings from a new study funded by Tate & Lyle.

Incorporation of 25 grams of the company’s Promitor-branded resistant starchincreased faecal output by 20 per cent without any significant gastrointestinal (GI) side effects, according to findings published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition.

“The utility of resistant starch as a food ingredient and the excellent tolerability profile are encouraging, as GI side effects associated with increased consumption of certain dietary fibres can be an impediment to continued consumption,” wrote the researchers, led by Kevin Maki, PhD, from Provident Clinical Research, a contract research organisation.

“The [type 3 novel resistant starch] employed in the current study possesses functional properties, such as high crystallinity and heat stability, which make it particularly resilient to high temperature cooking environments such as baking and extrusion.

“Accordingly, it maintains its status as a dietary fibre under these extreme conditions unlike some other resistant starch ingredients,” they added.

Low-down on RS

Resistant starch (RS) is so called because of its ability to resist digestion in the small intestine, unlike most other starches. Instead, RS passes through to the large intestine where it acts like dietary fibre and improves digestive health.

Resistant starch occurs naturally in foods such as unripe bananas and cooked and cooled potatoes, but commercially produced RS ingredients have started to appear on the market in order to allow food manufacturers to incorporate the ingredient into their products.

This has provided the industry with another means to tap into opportunities gleaned from the growing trend for health and wellness foods, with resistant starch fitting squarely into the low-glycaemic food trend, as well as health product positioning such as prebiotic fibre and healthy digestive system claims.

“The faster food moves through the digestive tract, the less frequently harmful compounds, such as carcinogens, come in contact with the digestive system,”explained Tate & Lyle’s Lisa Sanders, PhD, RD. “The added bulk also helps to dilute any harmful compounds that may exist and minimize their negative impact on the colon.”

Study details

Maki and his co-workers recruited 14 men and women with an average age of 32.5 and an average BMI of 26.8 kg/m2. The subjects underwent an initial 14-day period consuming a low-fibre diet, and were then randomly assigned to receive an additional 25 grams wheat bran or resistant starch for a further 14 days. After this time, they underwent a 7-day washout period before being crossed over to the other intervention.

Results showed an increase in daily faecal output by 20 and 35 per cent following consumption of the starch and wheat bran interventions, respectively, while no differences were observed in bowel frequency between the baseline period and the two interventions.

“This [latter result] is not entirely surprising, given that studies have shown that while stool weight increases with greater fibre consumption, there is a plateau effect for both intestinal transit time and faecal frequency,” said the researchers.“Once regularity is achieved (one to three bowel movements daily), the effect of additional dietary fibre is mainly to increases in stool weight, rather than defecation frequency.

“Subjects in the current study had baseline regularity in the normal range, and thus an increase in defecation frequency was not expected,”they added.

The consistency of the faeces was improved with the wheat bran, but not with the resistant starch, added the researchers.

Source: International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition
Volume 60, Issue 1, Supplement 4, Pages 296-305, doi: 10.1080/09637480903130538
“Beneficial effects of resistant starch on laxation in healthy adults”
Authors: K.C. Maki, L.M. Sanders, M.S. Reeves, V.N. Kaden, T.M. Rains, Y. Cartwright

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Resistant-starch-and-wheat-bran-may-boost-bowel-habits

Green tea extracts may slow smokers’ lung damage

By Stephen Daniells, 14-Oct-2009

Daily consumption of a Chinese green tea extract may slow the damage of cigarette smoke in the lungs, according to results from a rat study from Hong Kong.

Although expert advice is clearly to avoid tobacco smoke altogether, the results suggest smokers could benefit from upping their intake of green tea, particularly those rich in epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), according to findings from the animal study published in Respiratory Medicine.

One in three Europeans are smokers, while the US figure is one in five. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 compounds, of which 60 are known carcinogens. The oxidative stress levels of smokers are significantly greater than non-smokers, and as such there is a bigger drain on the levels of antioxidants in the body.

The new study, led by Judith Mak from The University of Hong Kong, led to an enlargement in the airspace in the lungs of cigarette-smoke-exposed animals, as well as an increase in the number of mucus producing goblet cells. Such effects, however, were not observed in rats fed Lung Chen tea, report the Hong Kong-based scientists.

The study adds to the ever-growing body of science supporting the potential health benefits of green tea and its polyphenols, particularly for anti-cancer and weight loss.

Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 per cent. Oolong tea is semi-fermented tea and is somewhere between green and black tea.

The four primary polyphenols found in fresh tealeaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epicatechin (EC).

What’s happening?

“The precise mechanisms of the protective role of green tea against cigarette smoking-induced lung injury are currently unclear,” explained the researchers.“Lung Chen tea contains the largest amount ofEGCGwhen compared with other Chinese teas and EGCG has the highest antioxidant capacity among different catechins and dietary compounds such as vitamins C, E and black tea.”

Evidence to support the potential protective effects of EGCG was not presented by the researchers, and further study needs to be performed to elucidate the mechanism. It is also not known if such benefits would be repeated in humans.

Study details

Mak and her co-workers randomly divided Sprague-Dawley rats into four groups. One group was exposed to normal air, one to air with 4 per cent cigarette smoke, one to normal air and fed green tea, and one to cigarette smoke-containing air and fed green tea.

After 56 days, animals exposed only to cigarette smoke showed an enlargement in the airspace of the lungs, and increased numbers of goblet cells. Such effects were not observed when they were simultaneously fed green tea, added the researchers.

Furthermore, levels of 8-isoprostane increased in the cigarette smoke-only animals, but not so in the green tea fed animals. Isoprostanes are accurate markers of oxidative stress in humans.

“These results indicate that increased levels of systemic oxidative stress after cigarette smoke exposure play an important role in the induction of lung damage,” wrote the researchers. “Chinese green tea may have the ability to suppress cigarette smoke-induced oxidative stress that leads to protection of lung injury,”they concluded.

Source: Respiratory Medicine
November 2009, Volume 103, Issue 11, Pages 1746-1754
“Chinese green tea ameliorates lung injury in cigarette smoke-exposed rats”
Authors: K.H. Chan, S.P. Ho, S.C. Yeung, W.H.L. So, C.H. Cho, M.W.L. Koo, W.K. Lam, M.S.M. Ip, R.Y.K. Man, J.C.W. Mak

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Green-tea-extracts-may-slow-smokers-lung-damage

Vegetarianism poses no bone health danger: Study

By Stephen Daniells, 13-Oct-2009

Consuming a vegetarian diet may result in slightly weaker bones, but not to a level that it becomes a clinical concern, says a new meta-analysis.

A review of nine studies including 869 women and 1,880 men found thatvegetarians had a four per cent lower bone mineral density (BMD) than omnivores, while the BMD of vegans was 6 per cent lower.

“The results suggest that vegetarian diets, particularly vegan diets, are associated with lower BMD, but the magnitude of the association is clinically insignificant,” wrote researchers based in Vietnam and Australia in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

A growing market

A survey by the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) found that 3 per cent of respondents described themselves as ‘completely vegetarian’, with an additional 5 per cent ‘partly vegetarian’.

These increases have resulted in growing sales of meat-free foods. According to a report by Mintel last year the total meat-free foods market in the UK was estimated to be worth £739 million (€787 million), with meat substitutes reportedly accounting for ₤170 million (€181 million).

Previous studies have reported inconsistent results for meat-free diets and bone health however, and with the World Health Organisation calling osteoporosis its biggest global healthcare problem, understanding how the dietary pattern may affect bone health is of utmost concern.

An estimated 75 million people suffer from osteoporosis in Europe, the USA and Japan.

Important review

In an accompanying editorial, Susan Lanham-New from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, UK described the new meta-analysis as “a most timely and important piece of work”.

“That said, this study does not provide the ‘conclusive’ evidence that pubic health specialists require,” she added, before noting: “The numbers of subjects are relatively small given the number of vegetarians worldwide; the study design of all but one of the studies is cross-sectional rather than longitudinal/prospective; and although the quality of the studies selected is in one way a strength, this meta-analysis is not fully representative of the many studies published in this area.”

Despite such caveats, Lanham-New stated that it could be “concluded that vegetarianism is not a serious risk factor for osteoporotic fracture”.

In addition to reductions of BMD in vegetarians and vegans, the Vietnam- and Australia-based researchers noted that the probability of vegetarians having reduced bone strength at the hip bone or in spine was 42 and 32 per cent, respectively.

Mechanism

Commenting on observations, Lanham-New said that the vegetarian diet is hugely complex, and that vegetarianism is often not only about differences in the nutrient components of the diet, but also in lifestyle factors.

“Historically, the fundamental theories linking vegetarianism to the skeleton were focused on there being a link between acid-base homeostasis and the skeleton and on the assumption that the long-term ingestion of a vegetable-based diet would provide an alkali (ash) and hence be beneficial to bone health,”she explained.

“Future research should focus attention on whether there are any particular components of a vegetarian/vegan diet (eg, higher intake of fruit and vegetables) that would yield specific benefits to the skeleton, including the determination of the specific concentrations that would be required for optimum bone health, and what are the underlying mechanisms that affect overall bone health,” she concluded.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
October 2009, Volume 90, Number 4

“Effect of vegetarian diets on bone mineral density: a Bayesian meta-analysis”(pages 943-950)
Authors: L.T. Ho-Pham, N.D. Nguyen, T.V. Nguyen

“Is ‘vegetarianism’ a serious risk factor for osteoporotic fracture?”(pages 910-911)
Author: S.A. Lanham-New

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Vegetarianism-poses-no-bone-health-danger-Study

Chaparral is natural medicine for treating cancer

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor 

(NaturalNews) If you search for natural cancer remedies, you'll eventually find information about chaparral -- a powerful healing herb that grows in the desert regions of the American Southwest (among other places). (In fact, where I used to live in Tucson, chaparral just grows wild all over the place The chaparral plants just seem endless...) But it's not just good against cancer: Chaparral is also a powerful anti-bacterial and anti-viral medicine.

In the paragraphs below, you'll find an amazing collection of supporting quotes about chaparral's anti-cancer properties from some of the best naturalhealth authors in the industry. Read and enjoy this unique compilation of evidence that supports the natural medicinal properties of this traditional Native American herb.

Chaparral vs. Cancer

Chaparral [Larrea tridentata), also known as creosote bush, has been used by Native Americans to treat a variety of illnesses, including cancer. Chaparral contains an ingredient called nor-dihihydroguairetic (NDGA), a potent antitumor agent. NDGA inhibits aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis (the energy-producing ability) of cancer cells. The flavonoids present in chaparral have strong antiviral and antifungal properties. 
- Herbal Medicine, Healing and Cancer: A Comprehensive Program for Prevention and Treatment by Donald R. Yance, j r.,C.N., M.H., A.H.G., with Arlene Valentine

More than twenty years ago, a Native American healer from Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, traveled the Rocky Mountain West, successfully treating cancer patients with chaparral as the primary remedy. Chaparral, extremely bitter, contains NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic acid), an anticancer substance. It is also thought to possess more of the antioxidant enzyme SOD than any other plant. Herbs used widely in South America for cancer, even by medical doctors, are pau d'arco (Tabevulia) and Suma (Pfaffia paniculata). These herbs are less bitter than chaparral, and work by tonifying immunity.
- Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchford

Chaparral contains a potent antioxidant constituent that probably accounts for its observed anticancer action. Chaparral has been the subject of a few studies that have resulted in both tumor regression and tumor stimulation. Chaparral has also been used as an antihistamine and as an anti-inflammatory. Chaparral is toxic to the liver. It can also cause nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and stomach pain at high dosages.
- Complementary Cancer Therapies: Combining Traditional and Alternative Approaches for the Best Possible Outcome by Dan Labriola

The plant is the creosote bush, or chaparral, also known as greasewood, and is a member of the oak family. All tests on chaparral indicate that it is positively non-toxic and has never shown any side effects on patients and if present research is successful it will offer the first anti-cancer drug. The Indians have used chaparral herb for many internal body malfunctions as well as for rash and acne-type skin eruptions, for hundreds of years. Chaparral has antibiotic and antiseptic properties along with immune stimulating substances.
- Miracle Medicine Herbs (Reward Books) by Richard Melvin Lucas

California yew and chaparral teas are also great cancer fighters. Trifolium (red clover) and scrophularia herb formulas are shown to work in fighting cancer. Carctol, a mixture of eight herbs, is known in Great Britain and India as a completely safe herbal supplement and has up to a 40% success rate with terminal cancer patients. There is a variety of some 2.5 million herbs categorized as cytotoxic (toxic to cancer cells). These herbs date back some 5,000 years. At least 3,000 of these herbs have anti-cancer properties of some kind.
- Defeat Cancer by Gregory, A. Gore

Evidence shows that some people with certain types of cancer in certain stages of development may benefit from Chaparral, but it is not clear who may benefit, which cancers are most susceptible or at which stage of cancer development the herb is most effective. One study in rats found that NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic acid), the purported active principle in Chaparral, produced almost complete inhibition of aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis and respiration in some kinds of cancer cells while normal cells were not affected.
- The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine: How to Remedy and Prevent Disease with Herbs, Vitamins, Minerals and Other Nutrients by Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D.

With this in mind, it seems like a good idea to take one chaparral capsule after consuming a Big Mac and french fries in order to offset some of the damage all of those free radicals you've ingested are capable of doing. And while chaparral may not hold quite the same promises expected of ginseng for longevity, it can certainly help to slow down the aging process quite a bit from the foods we eat on a daily basis. The medical doctor most involved with the limited success that chaparral has achieved with some kinds of cancer, is Charles R. Smart, M.D.
- Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs by John Heinerman

Certainly chaparral wouldn't be a good herb to take if a person has a diseased liver. Nor would it be advisable to take chaparral with alcohol or acetaminophen. Hopefully, the extract of chaparral will proceed through successful clinical trials and contribute as a meaningful cancer remedy in the near future. Pure NDGA from chaparral is a topical drug (Masoprocol) that is used on the skin and some studies indicate it may be effective as an oral anti-diabetic agent as well.
- You Don't Have to be Afraid of Cancer Anymore by Bill Sardi

The chaparral (Larrea tridentata) that grows over hundreds of square miles in Arizona and California contains a powerful antioxidant called NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic acid). NDGA was used to prevent oxidation from spoiling foods during World War II. It appears to work against cancer cells by preventing them from "eating" the blood sugar they need to survive - in other words, it starves them to death. Chaparral also contains polysaccharides, which stimulate the immune system. Chaparral is generally taken as a tea.
- Sam Biser's save your life collection: A Layman's course in curing last-stage diseases by Sam Biser

Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), a compound found in chaparral, is a powerful antioxidant that helps to prevent the kind of cell damage that can lead to cancer. It also has an antitumor effect. Chaparral is used as a mouthwash to prevent cavities. Benefits of chaparral for specific health conditions include the following: Arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. The major traditional use of chaparral in Mexican herbalism is as a bath or liniment to relieve the inflammation and pain of arthritis, sometimes in combination with osha. 
- Prescription for Herbal Healing: An Easy-to-Use A-Z Reference to Hundreds of Common Disorders and Their Herbal Remedies by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC

In 1959, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) was informed through lay correspondence that several cancer patients claimed beneficial effects on their cancers from drinking chaparral tea. Years later, a similar treatment was brought to the attention of physicians at the University of Utah, when an 85-year-old man with a proven malignant melanoma of the right cheek with a large cervical metastasis refused surgery and treated himself with chaparral tea. Eight months later he returned with marked regression of the tumor.
- Guide to Popular Natural Products by Ara Dermarderosian

Dr. Andrew Weil recommends the use of chaparral tea as a douche (a teaspoon of tincture of chaparral to a quart of warm water) for the precancerous condition, cervical dysplasia. In addition one can take beta-carotene and folic acid supplements by mouth. He gives the following 'recipe' to prepare the douche: simmer a small handful of leaves or four capsules in a quart of water, covered, for fifteen minutes.
- Cancer Therapy: The Independent Consumer's Guide To Non-Toxic Treatment & Prevention by Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

Tea and tincture of chaparral have an extremely strong taste considered disagreeable by most people, which restricts the amount they can tolerate before feeling nauseous. Capsules bypass this protective mechanism and should therefore be avoided. Since human studies have shown that large amounts of chaparral tea and injections of NDGA in people with cancer do not cause liver or kidney problems, it is likely the cases of toxicity represented individual reactions. 
- The Natural Pharmacy: Complete A-Z Reference to Natural Treatments for Common Health Conditions by Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D.

It is chaparral which is used as a medicinal tea. Reports of cancer cures surround chaparral, also known as the creosote bush, but so do reports of its toxicity. Numerous cases of liver toxicity over the years have been well documented. What is a cancer patient to think? The information surrounding this herb is an example of the misinformation surrounding many herbal remedies. The pro-toxic drug, anti-herbal stance of the FDA is unconscionable.
- You Don't Have to be Afraid of Cancer Anymore by Bill Sardi

The FDA hasn't banned grapefruit juice; it just instructs users of drugs to avoid simultaneous consumption of grapefruit with certain drugs. Chaparral may be unfairly characterized as a liver toxin when it is no more harmful than grapefruit. This may explain the inconsistent reports of liver toxicity. A 78-page report issued by the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council on chaparral in 2004 explains many of the promises and problems associated with chaparral, but it is probably too lengthy a document for cancer patients to wade through.
- You Don't Have to be Afraid of Cancer Anymore by Bill Sardi

Reports subsequently appeared in the lay literature describing the virtues of chaparral tea as an antineoplastic treatment. Nordihy-droguaiaretic acid (NDGA) is believed to be responsible for the biological activity of chaparral. Up until 1967, when more effective antioxidants were introduced, NDGA was used in the food industry as a food additive to prevent fermentation and decomposition. It is theorized that any anticancer effect of chaparral tea is caused by the ability of NDGA to block cellular respiration.
- Guide to Popular Natural Products by Ara Dermarderosian

Another herb in question is chaparral. People take it because it contains NDGA (nordihydroquaiatetic acid), a strong antioxidant and anti-cancer agent. Herb industry surveys show that more than 200 tons were sold in the United States between 1970 and 1990. And during this time, there was not a single complaint of side effects arising from the use of this herb. When two to three cups of chaparral tea or the isolated NDGA were given daily to more than 50 cancer patients, the only side effects were occasional nausea or diarrhea. Very large doses resulted in lowered blood pressure.
- Herbs for Health and Healing by Kathi Keville

First, for those with colon cancer (and even prostate or uterine/cervical cancer), one of the important things you can do is to use the blood-cleansing teas (red clover, chaparral, and even bowel herbs covered in this chapter) as a strong tea in a rectal implant (an enema with herb tea you retain as long as possible.) Basically, clean out the colon first with water enemas. That way, it will be easier to retain the herbal implant. Wheatgrass is another important rectal implant. Later on in this lesson, I will give you the herbal formulas everyone needs, especially cancer patients.
- Sam Biser's save your life collection: A Layman's course in curing last-stage diseases by Sam Biser

Further human trials failed to establish the Chaparral connection. However, close analysis of those trials revealed gross deficiencies in procedure, and so the effectiveness of the herb remains un-disproven, awaiting further clinical trials. Animal studies, meanwhile, strongly suggest that Chaparral or its main constituent, NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic acid), is toxic against cancer cells (not normal cells). It produces almost complete inhibition of aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis and respiration in some kinds of cancer cells.
- The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine: How to Remedy and Prevent Disease with Herbs, Vitamins, Minerals and Other Nutrients by Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D.

Lymphoma and skin cancer have responded well to treatment with this herbal formula, which contains red clover, buckthorn bark, stillingia root, barberry bark, chaparral, licorice root, cascara amarga, and prickly ash bark, along with potassium iodide. Other anticancer herbs to consider include African cayenne, bilberry, blood-root, comfrey dandelion root, goldenseal, pau d'arco, and suma. Goldenseal should be taken for short periods of time, and not taken during pregnancy. 
- The Complete Encyclopedia of Natural Healing: A Comprehensive A-Z Listing of Common and Chronic Illnesses and Their Proven Natural Treatmentsby Gary Null, Ph.D.

http://www.naturalnews.com/027247_cancer_chaparral_.html

There's no such thing as a virus that causes chronic fatigue syndrome

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor 

(NaturalNews) Beware, readers, when you see articles in the mainstream media claiming that a retrovirus causes Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). The stories quote new research published in the journal Science which claims that this virus -- known as XMRV -- was found in 67% of CFS sufferers but only 4% of the general population. From there, the media leaps to the wild conclusion that CFS is caused by this virus.

What you need to know is that this disinformation is laying the groundwork for a future CFS vaccine that will be pushed on the population in much the same way as HPV vaccines are now. The first step in getting the public to accept yet another vaccine is to brainwash people into thinking that yet another disease is caused by a virus. From there, it's only a matter of time before drug companies start talking about offering "treatment" in the form of a vaccine.

This is a play-by-play mirror image of the fraudulent push behind HPV vaccines. First, drug companies funded studies to "prove" that cervical cancerwas caused by a virus (it actually isn't). From there, they pushed their vaccine, claiming it "saves lives" by preventing cervical cancer. Of course, we now know the cervical cancer vaccine is a pharmaceutical hoax. Even one of its own top researchers recently declared that HPV vaccines are "ineffective." (http://www.naturalnews.com/027196_c...)

So why is the XMRV virus found in more CFS sufferers than the general population? It's simple: People with CFS have compromised immune systems, and in this state of weakened immunity, they are unable to rid their bodies of not just XMRV, but many other viruses as well. The presence of this virus is a symptom of the disease, not the cause.

Every viral announcement is a covert push for a future vaccine

For their own protection, it's important that health consumers learn to recognize these hidden vaccine agendas when they see them. Every announcement about a virus causing some particular disease is actually a covert push for a future vaccine. That's why drug companies are busily funding all kinds of research that hopes to find (or fabricate) a viral cause for almost every major disease.

You'll see, on a regular basis, increasingly frequent news stories claiming researchers have "discovered" the virus that causes cancer, or diabetes, or Alzheimer's disease or even strokes. And then, months or years later you'll see the FDA approving some new vaccine designed to "prevent" that disease or disorder. Before long, that vaccine will be added to an ever-growing list of other vaccines already being forced onto the population, and the whole thing will be framed in the language of "public health."

This is Big Pharma's disease mongering engine hard at work. This is how they game the system and fool the masses. First, they blame a virus for a disease, then they push a vaccine as "treatment." But it's all based on junk science. There is no virus that causes CFS or even cervical cancer. In fact, it's scientifically and medically inaccurate to say there's even a virus that causes the common cold. People are exposed to these viruses all the time and they don't catch the cold. Only a person with a compromised immune system (lacking vitamin D, usually, and suffering from chronic stress) winds up showing symptoms of the cold.

The fall of the Germ Theory

The Germ Theory of disease is outmoded. Today, we know that the terrain matters more than the germ. In other words, it's what's happening with your own health that really determines whether you get the disease or not. The viruses are present all the time, just waiting for an opportunity for a weakened immune system to give them an opening. That's why halting such infections has more to do with boosting and protecting immune system health than eradicating the virus.

Read more about this in an amazing book called Good-Bye Germ Theory by Dr. William Trebing. You'll find it at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Good-Bye-Germ...).

Vaccines, of course, are based entirely on the mythology of the germ theory, a framework of belief usually credited to Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895), from whom the term "pasteurization" is derived. But Pasteur missed the bigger picture. His friend and colleague Claude Bernard (1813 - 1878) was actually more correct when he explained that it was the internal condition of the body that determined whether disease appeared rather than the mere presence of germs. An imbalance in the body's natural state creates a vulnerability that gets exploited by an opportunistic microbe. But without the imbalance in the body, the microbes may still be present but incapable of causing problems.

A French-American microbiologist named Rene Dubos (1901-1982) agreed with the "terrain theory" of disease, stating: "Most microbial diseases are caused by organisms present in the body of a normal individual. They become the cause of disease when a disturbance arises which upsets the equilibrium of the body."

To stay in business, the pharmaceutical industry must oppose the "terrain theory" of disease and push the germ theory at all costs: The entire vaccine industry depends on it. The idea is also quite seductive to many patients because it allows them to cast off any responsibility for their own health condition and blame a virus instead of their own dietary and exercise habits, for example. It's also an explanation favored by many conventional doctors because it allows them to simply prescribe a vaccine or an antibiotic instead of engaging in the far more detailed task of teaching patients how to make healthier lifestyle choices.

To this day, by the way, the pharmaceutical industry continues to try to find a microbiological cause for cancer. The whole point of this is to develop an "anti-cancer vaccine" and promote it as a cancer cure.

But the germ theory doesn't explain cancer... or CFS or any other degenerative disease. And those who promote the germ theory for such conditions are unwittingly playing right into the hands of the pharmaceutical industry.
http://www.naturalnews.com/027248_disease_cancer_health.html

Capsaicin could stop a heart attack in progress, scientists find

by S. L. Baker, features writer 

(NaturalNews) The late, famed herbalist Dr. John Christopher was nicknamed "Dr. Cayenne" because he was constantly recommending the healing powers of cayenne, the substance found in chili peppers that produces a sensation of heat. He especially advocated using it for cardiovascular health and even made the claim that doses of cayenne could stop heart attacks in progress (http://www.naturalnews.com/026869_c...). Now science has come up with proof cayenne does have a remarkable ability to help the heart. University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists have found that capsaicin, the main component of cayenne, may literally stop a heart attack in its tracks when applied topically.

New research just published in the journal Circulation concludes that a common, over-the-counter pain salve containing capsaicin rubbed on the skin during a heart attack could serve as a cardiac-protectant -- reducing or even preventing damage to the heart. The researchers found an amazing 85 percent reduction in cardiac cell death when capsaicin was used. This is the most powerful cardioprotective effect ever recorded,according to Keith Jones, PhD, a researcher in the UC department of pharmacology and cell biophysics.

Dr. Jones and his research team applied capsaicin to specific skin locations in mice that caused reactions in the nervous system. Specifically, sensory nerves in the skin were triggered to activate what the scientists call cellular "pro-survival" pathways in the heart. The result? The heart muscle was protected from injury. 

The researchers also found that a tiny incision made in the abdomen of the lab rodents triggered an 81 percent reduction in the death of heart cells. "Both this and the capsaicin effect are shown to work through similar neurological mechanisms," Dr. Jones explained. "This is a form of remote cardioprotection, using a skin stimulus that activates cardioprotection long before the blocked coronary artery is opened."

Dr. Jones is currently working in collaboration with cardiologist Neal Weintraub, MD, director of UC's cardiovascular diseases division, and other clinicians to test capsaicin's heart protective abilities in people. "Topical capsaicin has no known serious adverse effects and could be easily applied in an ambulance or emergency room setting well in advance of coronary tissue death," Dr. Jones said in a media statement. "If proven effective in humans, this therapy has the potential to reduce injury and/or death in the event of a coronary blockage, thereby reducing the extent and consequences of heart attack."

The researchers think that by activating sensors in the nervous system through skin, a response to preserve and protect the heart is triggered. "This may be similar to the way certain acupuncture treatments work; there may be a neurological basis. In a broad sense, this work may provide a 'Rosetta stone' for translating alternative medicine techniques -- like acupuncture -- to Western medicine. Perhaps we can understand the biological mechanisms of how alternative treatments may be successful for patients," Dr. Jones stated.

Editor's note: NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.
http://www.naturalnews.com/027238_capsaicin_heart_attack_cayenne.html

Drinking From Plastic Raises BPA Levels 70 percent

by David Gutierrez, staff writer 

(NaturalNews) Drinking water from plastic bottles made with the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) increases urinary levels of the chemical by nearly 70 percent, according to a study conducted by researchers from Harvard University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

BPA, an industrial chemical that makes plastics hard and transparent, is widely used in plastic drinking bottles, infant bottles and other consumer products, and also in resins that line cans of food and infant formula. The chemical has been shown to disrupt the hormonal system, potentially leading to reproductive defects as well as brain damage, cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes.

"These astonishing results should be a clarion call to lawmakers and public health officials that babies are being exposed to BPA, and at levels that could likely have an impact on their development," said Renee Sharp, of the Environmental Working Group. "The adults in this study were willing participants who understood the risk of exposure, but babies are unwitting victims of the silent but serious threat this hormone-disrupting chemical poses to their health."

The study, conducted on 77 student volunteers, was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

A number of major retailers, including Toys R' Us, Wal-Mart, Nalgene, Gerber, Playtex and others, have agreed to phase out the chemical in some countries. The Environmental Working Group has published a guide to BPA-free baby bottles and formulas, which can be found atwww.ewg.org/babysafe.

The state of Minnesota has banned the use of BPA in food containers intended for children three and younger, as have Chicago and New York's Suffolk County. California and Connecticut are also considering banning the substance.

"If the legislation to protect California's youngest from further exposure to BPA is defeated, those elected officials responsible for its demise should be held to account for protecting the profits of the chemical industry instead of children's health," Sharp said.
http://www.naturalnews.com/027236_BPA_health_disease.html

Sixty million years of evolution says vitamin D may save your life from swine flu

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor 

(NaturalNews) People still don't get it: Vitamin D is the "miracle nutrient" that activates your immune system to defend you against invading microorganisms -- including seasonal flu and swine flu. Two months ago, an important study was published by researchers at Oregon State University. This study reveals something startling: Vitamin D is so crucial to the functioning of your immune system that the ability of vitamin D to boost immune function and destroy invading microorganisms has been conserved in the genome for over 60 million years of evolution.

As this press release from Oregon State University (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...) explains:

The fact that this vitamin-D mediated immune response has been retained through millions of years of evolutionary selection, and is still found in species ranging from squirrel monkeys to baboons and humans, suggests that it must be critical to their survival, researchers say.

"The existence and importance of this part of our immune response makes it clear that humans and other primates need to maintain sufficient levels of vitamin D," said Adrian Gombart, an associate professor of biochemistry and a principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.

The announcement goes on to explain:

In primates, this action of "turning on" an optimal response to microbial attack only works properly in the presence of adequate vitamin D, which is actually a type of hormone that circulates in the blood and signals to cells through a receptor. Vitamin D is produced in large amounts as a result ofsun exposure, and is available in much smaller amounts from dietary sources.

Vitamin D prevents the "adaptive" immune response from over-reacting and reduces inflammation, and appears to suppress the immune response. However, the function of the new genetic element this research explored allows vitamin D to boost the innate immune response by turning on an antimicrobial protein. The overall effect may help to prevent the immune system from overreacting.

Without vitamin D, you're a sitting duck

What this study reveals is that without sufficient levels of vitamin D circulating in your blood, you're a ripe, juicy target for influenza (H1N1 or otherwise). If you lack vitamin D, your immune system can't "activate" to do its job. That's why people who are deficient in vitamin D so frequently get winter colds.

But people who are high in vitamin D have the nutritional power to activate their immune system so that it can respond to invading pathogens. Crucially, vitamin D also manages to balance immune response and prevent inflammation -- the leading cause of death in the 1918 influenza pandemic.

So not only does vitamin D protect you from the initial infection; it also prevents your body from over-reacting and killing you with inflammation (which typically gets expressed as bacterial pneumonia, an infection of the lungs).

Smart people today are doing two things:

1) Saying NO to vaccines.
2) Saying YES to vitamin D.

If you take vitamin D, you don't need a vaccine!

Sources for vitamin D

Where can you get vitamin D? There's some vitamin D naturally present in fish oils and marine omega-3 oils, but the two most abundant sources are:

1) Sunlight
2) Vitamin D supplements

You can get sunlight for free by exposing your skin to the sun. You can get vitamin D supplements at www.Vitacost.com or just about any vitamin retailer (local or online).

Vitamin D is easy to get. Your body actually manufactures it when you're exposed to the sun.

Why no vitamin D advice?

The research supporting vitamin D's ability to halt influenza is overwhelming. And yet the vaccine industry (and the doctors who push vaccines) don't want you to know about vitamin D. Why is that?

It's because if people knew the truth about vitamin D, the vaccine industry would collapse. Who needs a vaccine if you're got a powered-up immune system to do the job automatically? Plus, your immune system is natural, while vaccines are completely unnatural injections of toxic chemicals that are increasingly being linked to not just autism, but seizures, brain damage and death.

Why risk a vaccine when vitamin D is so remarkably safe?

You'll need at least 4000 IU a day just to prevent deficiency, according to many nutrition experts. Some people I know take 8000 IU a day. I personally don't take any vitamin D but I get at least 30 minutes of sunlight every day near the equator (which is a unique geographical situation, I understand, that not everybody can replicate).

Our national "health" officials (if you can call them that) are making a crucial mistake with the swine flu. Instead of ordering more vaccines, they should be recommending vitamin D supplements to the population. For less than the cost of the vaccines, we could provide vitamin D supplementation to every man, woman and child in America. We would not only end the swine flu pandemic, we would also see cancer rates plummet!

Perhaps that's why our health authorities don't dare recommend vitamin D -- the financial impact on the cancer industry would just be too great. The vaccine makers would lose billions, and the cancer industry could lose tens of billions. Diabetes rates would fall, depression would fade away in many people, kidney function would improve and a long list of other diseases would be prevented or reversed following adequate vitamin D intake.

Vitamin D is the answer to our national health care problems. Just one nutrient, if distributed freely to everyone, could probably slash our national health care costs by one-third within five years, I believe.

And yet they dare not mention it. "It's not approved by the FDA," they say. So the CDC won't mention it. The WHO won't recommend it. The FDA pretends it doesn't exist, and the doctors aren't allowed to prescribe it.

Here it is -- vitamin D -- the great CURE for influenza. It's here right now. It's cheap, it's safe, and it's available. Yet it's being utterly ignored.

Let me go on the record to state the obvious: There is an agenda under way to keep the American people deficient in vitamin D and ignorant about its healing properties. This is a conscious, planned scheme that seeks to keep the people disinformed while pumping them full of vaccines, chemotherapy and prescription drugs instead of teaching them the simple nutritional cures that exist right now.

Mark my words: With the swine flu or any future pandemic, the populations suffering the highest death rates will be those with the highest rates of vitamin D deficiency. And the vaccine? It offers no protection compared to the power of the vitamin D.

The laws of biochemistry cannot be suspended by FDA bureaucrats

To any doctor or health authority who scoffs at the notion of vitamin D being far more useful than vaccines, ask them this question: If vitamin D has no purpose in human health, then why have the immune system genes that are specifically activated by vitamin D persisted in the genome (which is now the human genome) for more than sixty million years?

Why is the human immune system programmed to use vitamin D to activate itself?

Why does human skin generate vitamin D in response to sun exposure?

To hear mind-numbed doctors answer it, this is all just coincidence! There is no specific reason that vitamin D genes exist at all!

But it gets even more bizarre: According to the FDA, vitamin D has no beneficial biological effects in the human body! It's true: The FDA says that any substance that has a beneficial (therapeutic) effect in the human body must be a DRUG, not a nutrient. And vitamin D has never been approved as a drug. Therefore, it is inert.

Do you follow that? Vitamin D has no benefit to the human body because the FDA says so. How's that for bureaucratic arrogance? It's like saying gravity doesn't apply in our world because we haven't yet "approved" the laws of physics. But one step off a high ledge reveals, indeed, that the laws of gravity are still in effect, and so are the laws of biochemistry.

You need vitamin D, not a vaccine

Your body doesn't need a vaccine to combat the swine flu (or seasonal flu, for that matter). What it needs is vitamin D, restful sleep, adequate hydration with clean water, and good nutrition. These things make the vaccine obsolete.

They're safe, affordable, natural and readily available. You don't have to wait in line to get vitamin D, and you don't need a doctor's prescription. There's no needle involved, and there's no risk of you suffering a seizure or permanent brain damage, either.

With sufficient levels of vitamin D in your blood, your immune system will do its job to protect you from swine flu, bird flu, human flu or even the pandemic infectious nonsense being spread around by the CDC, FDA and WHO. Your immune system has all the technology it needs right now to keep you alive from almost any widely-circulating microorganism... as long as it has the biochemical tools (like vitamin D) to "activate" its adaptive response.

Do you realize that without a functioning immune system, you would have been killed by microorganisms a thousand times over by now? Your immune system saves your life every day, quietly, behind the scenes. It is the reason you're breathing right now as you read this article. Receiving a vaccine injection is the ultimate insult to your own body because it admits that you have no faith in the very same immune system that has already saved your life countless times.

Don't put your faith in chemical injections. Believe in your immune system -- and give it the nutritional tools it needs to keep on saving your life.

http://www.naturalnews.com/027231_Vitamin_D_immune_system_vaccines.html

Colloidal Silver is an Antibacterial, Antifungal and Antiviral Miracle

by Ethan Huff, citizen journalist

(NaturalNews) The element silver has long been recognized as a precious metal of significant value. In fact, prior to the early '60s, silver was used to make quarters and dimes because it held its value in weight. Silver is also utilized in a variety of industrial uses including imaging and photography, electronics, water purification, as well as various catalytic uses. It is a highly conductive metal that does not corrode so it works effectively in various chemical processes. Many people, however, remain unaware of the health-promoting benefits of silver.

In the early days of human civilization, it was discovered that silver helped keep things like water, milk, and vinegar pure for long periods of time. Since there was no refrigeration at the time, silver vessels were often used to preserve various foods and drinks during travel. One of the primary reasons why many ancient civilizations used silver eating utensils was due to the fact that silver prevented the growth of disease-causing pathogens. Silver's preservative, medical, germicidal, and antibacterial uses can be traced as far back as during the ancient Greek and Roman empires.

Western Medicine Discovers Silver
It wasn't until the late 1800s that western science began to rediscover the ancient truths about silver. One of the early documented uses of silver as a bactericide was in 1884 by a German obstetrician named Carl Crede. He effectively administered a 1% silver nitrate solution into the eyes of newborn infants in order to prevent the incidence of gonococcal opthalmia, a disease that causes blindness in newborns. Prior to the introduction of modernantibiotics, silver was used widely in hospitals and by doctors to combat infection and to dress wounds.

As scientific understanding progressed, silver compounds and colloids were developed and became widely used medicinally to treat all sorts of infectious diseases. In fact, by 1940, there were roughly four dozen different silver compound products on the market to treat every known infectious disease, available orally, topically, or by injection. It was generally recognized not only as safe when properly prepared, but tremendously effective.

Western Medicine Abandons Silver
With the advent of synthetic, patented drugs and antibiotics in the 1930s, there came the gradual abandonment of silver by mainstream medicine, at least for the most part. Since resistant strains of disease organisms had not yet surfaced at that time, there was newfangled fervor towards the new treatments as superior and technologically-advanced. Most of silver's uses lost favor with the exception of it being used as a water purifying agent and as a wound dressing.

Western Medicine Discovers Silver, Again
It wasn't until the 1970s that silver began to reemerge medicinally, thanks to research by Dr. Carl Moyer, then chairman of Washington University's Department of Surgery. With the help of Dr. Margraf, the department's chief biochemist, research into a viable antiseptic that was safe to use on burn victims over large areas of their body led to a silver solution as the top choice. What had quickly become a remnant of history was being resurrected from the grave of antiquated medical literature as a powerful disease fighter.

It recent years, silver has garnered some attention from medical experts who recognize that it is a highly powerful germicidal, antibacterial, and antifungal, while also entirely non-toxic to humans when prepared correctly.

Despite some negative press about argyria, a condition that results when a person perpetually ingests improperly-formulated silver solutions that have been prepared with silver salts and consequently receives a blue pigmentation in the skin, the truth remains that properly prepared silver solutions made by electrically-generated ions is an extremely potent disease preventative as well as treatment.

A 1988 laboratory test at the UCLA School of Medicine verified that bacteria, viruses, and fungal organisms are killed within minutes of being exposed to colloidal silver solutions. Dr. Robert Becker of Syracuse University also noted that in a study conducted at his school all the organisms tested were eliminated by the silver, including ones that were resistant to known antibiotics.

Properly-prepared silver treatments have no negative side effects and do not harm the good intestinal bacteria that are otherwise destroyed by conventional antibiotics when treating bacterial infections. It is precisely because silver cannot be patented that it has been mostly shrouded by the mainstream healthcare system. If it cannot be patented, it cannot make money and is thus a threat to the pharmaceutical monopoly on healthcare. While their antibiotics attempt to attack a few very specific strains of bacteria, constantly-mutating super bugs develop a resistance to this form of treatment. Contrarily, silver attacks the bacterial food source making even mutated forms defenseless against silver's powerful defense abilities.

Many medical professionals are catching on to silver's incredible qualities, however, and researchers continue to study it for its amazing antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial characteristics. It is incredibly effective and extremely inexpensive, especially when prepared at home. The process is simple and safe and involves no salt compounds; just silver, water, and electricity. Several producers construct and sell quality colloidal silver generators that allow one to make colloidal silver at home for as much as it costs to purchase distilled water. Colloidal silver solutions can also be purchased at most health food stores.

http://www.naturalnews.com/027235_silver_colloidal_health.html

Popular antidepressant associated with a dramatic increase in suicidal thoughts amongst men

Nortriptyline has been found to cause a ten-fold increase in suicidal thoughts in men when compared to its competitor escitalopram. These findings are published in the open access journal BMC Medicine.

The research was carried out by Dr. Nader Perroud from the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, who headed up GENDEP, an international team. Dr Perroud said "Suicidal thoughts and behaviours during antidepressant treatment have prompted warnings by regulatory bodies". He continued "the aim of our study was to investigate the emergence and worsening of suicidal thoughts during treatment with two different types of antidepressant."

Both escitalopram and nortriptyline have their effect through the mood modulating neurotransmitter systems. The former is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), preventing serotonin from re-entering the cell and thereby prolonging its effect on nerve synapses. The latter is a tricyclic antidepressant that inhibits the reuptake of noradrenaline, and to a lesser extent, that of serotonin.

The study was carried out on 811 individuals with moderate to severe unipolar depression. Whilst an overall trend in reduction of suicidal thoughts was observed, men who took nortriptyline were found to have a 9.8-fold increase in emerging suicidal thoughts and a 2.4-fold increase in worsening suicidal thoughts compared to those who took escitalopram.

Perroud concludes, "Our findings that treatment-emerging and worsening suicidal thoughts may also be associated with psychomotor activation triggered by antidepressants needs to be investigated in future studies. The study also refutes the idea that newer antidepressants such as the SSRIs are worse than older medications in terms of increasing suicidal thoughts."

1. Suicidal ideation during treatment of depression with escitalopram and nortriptyline in Genome-Based Therapeutic Drugs for Depression (GENDEP): a clinical trial 
Nader Perroud, Rudolf Uher, Andrej Marusic, Marcella Rietschel, Ole Mors, Neven Henigsberg, Joanna Hauser, Wolfgang Maier, Daniel Souery, Anna Placentino, Aleksandra Szczepankiewicz, Lisbeth Jorgensen, Jana Strohmaier, Astrid Zobel, Caterina Giovannini, Amanda Elkin, Cerisse Gunasinghe, Joanna Gray, Desmond Campbell, Bhanu Gupta, Anne E Farmer, Peter McGuffin and Katherine J Aitchison 
BMC Medicine (in press)

During embargo, article available here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/imedia/6417703353061048_article.pdf?random=872607

After the embargo, article available at journal website: http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication

2. BMC Medicine - the flagship medical journal of the BMC series - publishes original research articles, commentaries and reviews in all areas of medical science and clinical practice. To be appropriate for BMC Medicine, articles need to be of outstanding quality, broad interest and special importance. BMC Medicine (ISSN 1741-7015) is indexed/tracked/covered by PubMed, MEDLINE, BIOSIS, CAS, Scopus, EMBASE, Current Contents, Thomson Reuters (ISI) and Google Scholar.

3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/bc-paa101309.php

Public release date: 15-Oct-2009
UT Southwestern Medical Center 

UT Southwestern study shows how substance in grapes may squeeze out diabetes

DALLAS – Oct. 15, 2009 – A naturally produced molecule called resveratrol, found in the skin of red grapes, has been shown to lower insulin levels in mice when injected directly into the brain, even when the animals ate a high-fat diet.

The findings from a new UT Southwestern Medical Center study suggest that when acting directly on certain proteins in the brain, resveratrol may offer some protection against diabetes. Prior research has shown that the compound exerts anti-diabetic actions when given orally to animals with type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus), but it has been unclear which tissues in the body mediated these effects.

"Our study shows that the brain plays an important role in mediating resveratrol's anti-diabetic actions, and it does so independent of changes in food intake and body weight," said Dr. Roberto Coppari, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study appearing online and in the December issue of Endocrinology.

"These animals were overrun with fat and many of their organs were inflamed. But when we delivered resveratrol in the brain, it alleviated inflammation in the brain," added Dr. Coppari.

Dr. Coppari emphasized that his study does not support the conclusion that consuming products made from red grapes, such as red wine, could alleviate diabetes.

"The main reason is that resveratrol does not cross the blood brain barrier efficiently," he said. "In order for the brain to accumulate the same dose of resveratrol delivered in our study, the amounts of red wine needed daily would surely cause deleterious effects, especially in the liver. Rather, our study suggests that resveratrol's analogs that selectively target the brain may help in the fight against diet-induced diabetes."

For the study, the researchers investigated what happens when resveratrol acts only in the brain. Specifically, they wanted to know whether resveratrol injected in the brain activated a group of proteins called sirtuins, which are found throughout the body and thought to underlie many of the beneficial effects of calorie restriction. Previous animal research has shown that when these proteins are activated by resveratrol, diabetes is improved. In addition, drugs activating sirtuins currently are being tested as anti-diabetic medications in human trials, Dr. Coppari said.

In one group of animals, researchers injected resveratrol directly into the brain; another group received a saline-based placebo. All the surgically treated animals consumed a high-fat diet before and after the surgery.

Dr. Coppari said the insulin levels of the animals treated with the placebo solution rose increasingly higher post-surgery. "That's a normal outcome because insulin sensitivity decreases the longer you keep an animal on a high-fat diet."

Insulin levels in the mice given resveratrol, however, actually started to drop and were halfway to normal by the end of the five-week study period, even though the animals remained on a high-fat diet.

In addition, the researchers found that resveratrol did indeed activate sirtuin proteins in the brain.

Dr. Coppari said the findings support his team's theory that the brain plays a vital role in mediating the beneficial effects of resveratrol and that manipulation of brain sirtuins also may have other beneficial outcomes. "By knowing that the central nervous system is involved, pharmaceutical companies can begin to focus on developing drugs that selectively target sirtuins in the brain," he said.

The next step, Dr. Coppari said, is to determine precisely which neurons in the brain are mediating the effects of the resveratrol.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/usmc-uss101409.php

FDA warns P&G for adding vitamin C to Nyquil

(AP) – 20 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Federal drug regulators are scolding Procter & Gamble for adding Vitamin C to its Vicks cold formulas, a combination not allowed by federal regulations.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to the consumer products company, saying medications like Vicks Nyquil and Dayquil have not been approved to contain vitamin C.

According to the agency, a panel of experts found "no study which demonstrated that vitamin C is unequivocally effective for the prevention or treatment of the common cold."

P&G advertising for Vicks says the vitamin "can help blunt" the effects of a cold.

The FDA is tasked with verifying marketing claims about drugs.

Calls placed to Cincinnati-based P&G were not immediately returned Wednesday.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5icl2hKXPBn_KQtcx1D9d_HjTTR5gD9BB21DO0

Earlier Flu Viruses Provided Some Immunity To Current H1N1 Influenza, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2009) — University of California, Davis, researchers studying the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, formerly referred to as "swine flu," have identified a group of immunologically important sites on the virus that are also present in seasonal flu viruses that have been circulating for years. These molecular sites appear to result in some level of immunity to the new virus in people who were exposed to the earlier influenza viruses.

More than a dozen structural sites, or epitopes, in the virus may explain why many people over the age of 60, who were likely exposed to similar viruses earlier in life, carry antibodies or other type of immunity against the new virus, immune responses that could be attributed to earlier flu exposure and vaccinations.

Researchers Zheng Xing, a project scientist, and Carol Cardona, a veterinarian and Cooperative Extension specialist, both of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, report their findings online in the journal ofEmerging Infectious Diseases. The report will appear in the November print edition of the journal, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"These findings indicate that human populations may have some level of existing immunity to the pandemic H1N1 influenza and may explain why the 2009 H1N1-related symptoms have been generally mild," Cardona said.

"Our hypothesis, based on the application of data collected by other researchers, suggests that cell-mediated immunity, as opposed to antibody-mediated immunity, may play a key role in lowering the disease-causing ability, or pathogenicity, of the 2009 H1N1 influenza," Xing added.

He noted that immune responses based on production of specific cells, known as cytotoxic T-cells, have been largely neglected in evaluating the efficacy of flu vaccinations. In this type of immune response, the T-cells and the antiviral chemicals that they secrete attack the invading viruses.

About 2009 H1N1 influenza

The 2009 H1N1 virus is a new strain of influenza that first appeared in the United States in April 2009. Early on, it was referred to as "swine flu" because it was genetically similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America. Further study, however, revealed that the virus actually included genes from viruses found in birds and humans, as well as pigs.

At first, this H1N1 influenza virus apparently caused a high number of deaths among patients in Mexico and among people with certain pre-existing medical conditions. But as it has progressed to become a pandemic or geographically widespread virus, H1N1 has caused relatively mild symptoms and few deaths.

One hallmark of this new influenza virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been the presence of pre-existing antibodies against the virus in about one third of H1N1 2009 patients over the age of 60, a phenomenon that suggested some levels of immunity may have existed to the new pandemic H1N1 virus. The UC Davis research

To probe this phenomenon, the UC Davis researchers surveyed data from earlier studies of epitopes known to exist on different strains of seasonal influenza A. They found that these epitopes, present in other seasonal H1N1 influenza strains around the world and capable of triggering an immune response, were also present in the strains of H1N1 2009 that were found in California, Texas and New York.

Interestingly, although previous H1N1 viruses seem to have produced a protective antibody response in exposed people, these antibodies largely did not provide cross-protection for individuals infected with the H1N1 2009 strain of influenza. The researchers theorize that, rather than stimulating protective antibodies, the epitopes of the new H1N1 2009 virus produced an immune response by triggering production of cytotoxic T-cells, which boost a person's immune defenses by killing infected cells and attacking the invading viruses.

Humans can mount two types of immune responses. One type is produced when the invading virus triggers production of protective antibodies that circulate in the bloodstream, and the other type, described above, is known as a cell-mediated immune response. It is produced when the invading virus triggers the activation of cytotoxic T-cells, a process that helps clear the virus from the body. Evidence from earlier studies suggests that cytotoxic T-cell immune immunity can be caused by either an active viral infection or by vaccination against such a virus.

Implications for avian influenza

The researchers note that about 80 percent of the epitopes found in seasonal influenza and flu vaccine viruses are also present in the highly pathogenic H5N1, or avian influenza, virus. They suggest that these epitopes may have protected some individuals infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus through cytotoxic T-cell immunity.

However, the H5N1 virus rapidly reproduces itself and spreads so quickly within vital organs that the body may not be able to launch protective immunity, thus accounting for the high fatality rate of avian influenza.

Furthermore, only a fraction of the human population can recognize the specific epitopes necessary to cause the appropriate protective immune response, which may explain why the H1N1 2009 virus, as well as avian influenza, may vary in severity from person to person.

Xing and Cardona propose that immunity acquired from seasonal influenza or flu vaccinations may provide partial protection for patients infected with the avian influenza virus due to the shared epitopes essential for cytotoxic T-cell immunity.

This is supported by statistics from the World Health Organization indicating that there have been fewer avian influenza infections in people 40 years and older than there were in people under that age, and that the fatality rate of avian influenza was just 32 percent in the older age group but 59 percent in the younger group.

The researchers, therefore, suggest that repeated exposure to seasonal influenza viruses or flu vaccinations may have resulted in cytotoxic T-cell immunity to avian influenza, and that the same type of immunity may also have developed in people exposed to the H1N1 virus.

Funding for this study was provided by grants from the Department of Homeland Security's National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense, and by the UC Davis Center for California Food Animal Health.

1.      Z. Xing and C.J. Cardona. Preexisting Immunity to Pandemic (H1N1) 2009. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2009; DOI: 10.3201/eid1511.090685