Docs in Japan have found that “nose-brain direct transport” beats injection for delivering a brain cancer-fighting drug:
Nasal chemotherapy with MTX significantly reduced the tumor weight as compared to nontreatment control and IP group. The strategy to utilize the nose−brain direct transport can be applicable to a new therapeutic system not only for brain tumors but also for other central nervous system disorders such as neurodegenerative diseases.
Photo: tourist_on_earth/Flickr CC
U. of Haifa scientists have found that LAN, or “light at night,” suppresses the secretion of melatonin in mice, which leads to rises in certain cancers.
This comes as more bad news to people finding themselves forced by Agenda 21-inspired urbanization schemes into dense cities that never sleep, where streetlights and other sources of artificial ambient light crash in through apartment windows.
From U. of Haifa announcement, today:
Earlier studies in which Prof. Haim has participated at the University of Haifa, have shown that people living in areas that have more night-time illumination are more susceptible to prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women. The researchers’ hypothesis was that LAN harms production of melatonin, a hormone that is released from the pineal gland during the dark part of the 24h cycle and which is linked to the body’s cyclical night-day activity and seasonality. When this hormone is suppressed, the occurrence of cancer rises.
via Connection Between Light at Night LAN and Cancer Revealed.
Photo: Eric Lewis/Flickr CC
It might be time to throw out your Tylenol. Consider: filthy manufacturing facilities, mounting evidence of disease and overdose risk from the drug, and viable alternatives for pain reduction… MB
Asthma and other diseases are far more likely to occur in kids who get even a single dose of acetaminophen per month, a study finds:
There was a significant association between acetaminophen use and risk of asthma and eczema. For medium users the risk of asthma 43 percent higher than non-users; high users had 2.51 times the risk of non-users. Similarly, the risk of rhinoconjunctivitis allergic nasal congestion was 38 percent higher for medium users and 2.39 times as great for high users compared to non-users. For eczema, the relative risks were 31 percent and 99 percent respectively.
It’s not a causal link, the authors note. But it is a strong association.
via Acetaminophen Use in Adolescents Linked to Doubled Risk of Asthma.
Another week brings fresh evidence that for some THC will prove to be “God’s own medicine”:
Our results show that both Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the most abundant and potent cannabinoid in marijuana, and JWH-133, a non-psychotropic CB2 receptor-selective agonist, reduce tumor growth, tumor number, and the amount/severity of lung metastases in MMTV-neu mice. Histological analyses of the tumors revealed that cannabinoids inhibit cancer cell proliferation, induce cancer cell apoptosis, and impair tumor angiogenesis. Cannabinoid antitumoral action relies, at least partially, on the inhibition of the pro-tumorigenic Akt pathway. We also found that 91% of ErbB2-positive tumors express the non-psychotropic cannabinoid receptor CB2.
via Abstract | Cannabinoids reduce ErbB2-driven breast cancer progression through Akt inhibition.
Photo: Giselle Giardino/Flickr CC
Here’s one for all of us who find religion every time we’re worried about our health:
As it turns out, for improving health, prayer might work, after all.
The key, according to Indiana researchers, is PIP — proximate intercessory prayer (PIP). That means the persona praying, and the “target” of those prayers, must be near to one another.
I’d like to see a followup on prayers made via live audio and video connections…
Rural Mozambican subjects exhibited improved audition and/or visual acuity subsequent to PIP. The magnitude of measured effects exceeds that reported in previous suggestion and hypnosis studies. Future study seems warranted to assess whether PIP may be a useful adjunct to standard medical care for certain patients with auditory and/or visual impairments, especially in contexts where access to conventional treatment is limited.
via Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Proximal Intercessory Pr… : Southern Medical Journal.
Needs relief. Photo: Elvert Barnes/Flickr CC
Diabetics and others with chronic pain caused by peripheral nerve damage, might find relief in a pot derivative, according to docs at the Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Last week the researchers announced a finding that the cannabinoid, MDA19, reduces neuropathic pain, “without producing adverse effects in the central nervous system.”
In other words, using the cannabinoid alone reduced pain in rats, without getting them stoned — an undesirable effect, as the docs see it.
The synthetic cannabinoid (cannabis-related) compound, called MDA19, seems to avoid side effects by acting mainly on one specific subtype of the cannabinoid receptor. “MDA19 has the potential for alleviating neuropathic pain without producing adverse effects in the central nervous system,” according to the study by Dr Mohamed Naguib of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Photo: David Shankbone/Flickr CC
Gay men are svelter than straight guys. Lesbian women are more likely to be overweight.
Northeastern and Harvard researchers this week said they’ve found huge disparities in several measures of health and heart disease risk, between straight and gay populations.
Indeed, the gaps between straight and gay people are so great– lesbian women are 50 percent more likely than straight women to be obese, for example — I believe it is time that medical schools consider training docs to specialize in the primary care of GLBT patients.
More from the study:
• Gay men and women were more likely to be current smokers compared to their heterosexual counterparts.• Lesbian women and bisexuals were more likely to report having multiple risk factors for heart disease.• Sexual minorities as a whole were more likely to report experiencing some form of sexual assault during their lifetime.
via Study Correlates Sexual Orientation and Health Disparities.
Health nut: Photo: H Anderson/Flickr CC
I knew I’d live to see red meat lose its bad boy image.
Turns out that the problem with the meat we’ve been eating is its toxic load, thanks to giant agribusinesses and our huge appetites.
Behold, the Heretic’s four-point harm reduction plan for meat eaters:
We found that processed meats were associated with higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, and then unprocessed red meats were not.
via Not All Red Meats Are Heart-Unhealthy, Study Says | WBUR.
Happy, and can't hear a thing. Photo: Richard Masoner/Flickr CC
Drugs that improve sexual function also make it harder to hear your partner, a study finds:
Findings published May 18 in Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery indicate a potential for long-term hearing loss following use of Viagra, and possibly following use of other phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE-5i) drugs such as Cialis and Levitra, although results on those drugs are inconclusive.
Stay tuned for more bad news about boomer drugs, which I suspect are trashing our bodies more than the pharmaceutical industry is letting on.
via Study Examines Hearing Loss, Viagra Use.
Foto: Richard Masoner.
Bonus: Dig the UAB researcher’s magnificent beard (below):
UAB Study Examines Hearing Loss, Viagra Use from uabnews on Vimeo.
The foodies get it. Pot-laced products bear interesting labels. Photo: Bob With/Flickr CC
More mainstream focus on the impending pot legalization story. In this case, Village Voice Media’s Toke of the Town picks up on an NPR report. — MB
I interviewed a California medical marijuana producer a year ago, and he was already stressing about legalization. (Like many licensed to grow medical marijuana in the state, he also sells pot to non-medical clients.)
“I want to get out of the business before it becomes fully legal,” he said.
But since then, the same grower has started mulling new angles for his business. One is branding: He and a close relative hope to become the Mondavi brothers of weed. He noted in a subsequent interview the allure of small batch beers, and reckoned that pot growers can take a similar approach to marketing their product.
Marijuana growers could compete against the likes of Altria by emphasizing their organic growing methods, for example, or that they are local producers.
The context:
“Greater supply, more competition, and especially the prospect of legalized marijuana — with the issue enjoying majority support and slated to appear on November’s ballot in California — is exerting downward pressure on pot prices…”
via Toke of the Town – Low Pot Prices Create Panic; We Should All Have Such Problems.