Drinking tea 'cuts down ovarian cancer risk'
London, March 11: Having two cups of black tea or one cup of green tea a day can help cut down risk of developing ovarian cancer in women, says a study.
Researchers at the University of Washington studied 2,000 women and noticed a 54 per cent risk reduction in those who drank one or more cups of green tea a day, the Daily Express reported.
A second study by the National Institute of Environmental Medicine in Stockholm discovered that those drinking at least two cups of black tea daily slashed the risk of ovarian cancer by nearly 50 per cent.
Studies have emphasised the cancer-protecting properties of both teas that have also been observed to help the heart, boost the brain and bring down "bad" cholesterol levels. (ANI)
Lemon grass fights headaches
Mar 11, 2010:Native lemon grass has the potential to relieve headaches and migranes, researchers say.
Griffith University (GU) researchers Lyn Griffiths, Darren Grice and Kelly Rogers have proven that lemon grass plant Cymbopogon Ambiguus may be as good as aspirin.
"Headaches and migraines cause abnormal activities in our bodies such as altering our serotonin levels and interfering with the normal function of our blood platelets," said Grice of the Institute for Glycomics.
Platelets clump together for wound repair, but they can also form life-threatening internal clots, starving the brain of oxygen and causing strokes.
"We tested extracts of the plant on human blood platelets and one fraction showed strong biological activity.
It was caused by the compound eugenol in the native lemon grass plant, which is a significant find as the compound showed similar activity to aspirin. The compound inhibits platelets clumping together and the release of serotonin," said Grice.
Serotonin regulates mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction and some cognitive functions including memory, said a GU release.
"Nature's medicines hold enormous potential to cure health problems and traditional medicines are a source of good leads for new scientific discovery," Grice said.
These findings were published in the latest edition of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Dental care for pregnant women
Mar 11, 2010: Should pregnant women take special dental care? Dr Shantanu Jaradi has a few things to say...
Not that pregnant women today have less health concerns to tackle (apart from free advice from all members of family), but there are some concerns, which if overlooked, can impact a totally innocent life — that of your baby.
Why oral care during pregnancy
Improper care of teeth and gums during pregnancy can have a negative impact on not only the teeth and gums of babies, but also on birth weight and ability to carry to term.
Most of the time women who are pregnant experience nausea and vomiting which adds to the bacterium that accumulates on teeth.
Pregnant women experience 'pregnancy gingivitis' beginning in the second or third month of pregnancy that increases in severity throughout the eighth month. During this time, some women may notice swelling, bleeding, redness or tenderness in the gum tissue.
In some cases, gums swollen by pregnancy gingivitis react strongly to irritants and form large lumps. These growths, called pregnancy tumors, are not cancerous and are generally painless. If the tumor persists, it may require removal by a periodontist.
Both poor oral hygiene and higher hormone levels can cause pregnancy gingivitis. It can occur more frequently during pregnancy because the increased level of hormones exaggerates the way gums react to the irritants in plaque.
Recent research
The United States Surgeon General reports that there is a strong link between the health of a pregnant woman's mouth and her overall health. According to the Academy of Dentistr, serious infections of the gums and mouth (called periodontal disease) can result in premature birth and low birth weight. In fact, pregnant women with periodontal disease may be seven times more likely to have a baby that's born too early and too small. If you are planning a pregnancy, be sure to include a periodontal evaluation as part of your prenatal care.
What you should do
Keeping your teeth clean, especially near the gum line, will help dramatically reduce or even prevent gingivitis during your pregnancy
Substituting sweets with more wholesome foods such as cheese, fresh fruits or vegetables is better for your teeth.
Dental work during pregnancy is safe. The best time for treatment is between the 14th and 20th week. Having a root canal in itself would not harm you, your foetus or the baby in the future — anesthesia can be given without adrenaline which would not stress your baby and he/she would be fine.
It is however safe to avoid X-rays. Needless to mention, your physique and your pregnancy is different from any other woman's, so consulting your doctor and your dentist would be your best option.
Occupational sunlight exposure linked to reduced kidney cancer risk in men
Washington, March 11: Men employed in occupations with potential exposure to high levels of sunlight have a reduced risk of kidney cancer compared with men who are less likely to be exposed to sunlight at work, according to a new study.
Research suggests that vitamin D, which is obtained from sun exposure, some foods, and from supplements, may help prevent some cancers.
Sara Karami, of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, and her colleagues designed a study, which included 1,097 patients with kidney cancer and 1,476 individuals without cancer from four Central and Eastern European countries.
Demographic and lifetime occupational information was collected through in-person interviews and occupational sunlight exposure indices were estimated based on industry and job titles.
The investigators observed a 24 percent to 38 percent reduction in kidney cancer risk with increasing occupational sunlight exposure among male participants in the study.
No association between occupational sunlight exposure and kidney cancer risk was observed among females in the study.
The findings suggest that sunlight exposure may affect kidney cancer risk, although the authors have no explanation for the apparent differences in risk between men and women. They offer several hypotheses for the observed differences.
Biological or behavioral differences between men and women may play a role.
For example, hormonal differences may influence the body's response to sunlight exposure, females may have a higher tendency to use sunscreen on a regular basis, and men may be prone to working outdoors while shirtless.
It is also possible that the observed gender differences in risk were due to confounding by other unmeasured kidney cancer risk factors, such as recreational sunlight exposure and physical activity levels.
The study has been published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. (ANI)
Obesity associated with poor colon cancer prognosis
Washington, Mar 11: According to a new study, obese colon cancer patients are at greater risk for death or recurrent disease compared to those who are within a normal weight range.
The study has been reported in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
"Obesity has long been established as a risk factor for cancer, but our study in colon cancer patients shows that obesity predicts a poorer prognosis after the cancer is surgically removed," said Frank A. Sinicrope, M.D., professor of medicine and oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
In the study, Sinicrope and colleagues evaluated 4,381 patients with stage II or stage III colon cancer who had received adjuvant chemotherapy in clinical trials. Of these patients, 20 percent were obese.
Obesity was significantly linked with poorer overall survival and was independent of other variables analyzed. The prognostic impact was stronger in men than in women, and men in the highest body mass index category for obesity had a 35 percent increased risk of death compared to normal weight patients. The weaker effect in women is consistent with studies that have shown a lower risk of developing colon cancer in obese women compared to obese men.
"We do not know if this is due to biology or the way we measure obesity," said Sinicrope. "Body mass index is a limited measure and there is evidence that abdominal fat may be a better predictor of colon cancer risk and perhaps prognosis in men than in women. There is also the potential influence of menopausal status and hormone replacement therapy in women." (ANI)
