New
research suggests that pregnant mothers who are exposed to hairspray at work
may be more likely to have boys with a common genital defect called
hypospadias. This condition occurs when the opening of the urethra is on the
underside of the urethra instead of at the tip.
Today’s
webinar, presented by Natural Standard Chief Editor Catherine Ulbricht, PharmD,
provided an in-depth look at Natural Standard’s database.
The research collaboration provides evidence-based, consensus-based and peer-reviewed monographs on a wide-range of health and wellness topics, including herbs, supplements and integrative modalities. With more than seven
databases, information can easily be cross referenced, enabling clinicians, patients and healthcare
institutions to make more informed and safer therapeutic decisions.
Ulbricht's webinar is one of many upcoming complimentary webinars on integrative medicine. The next webinar, An Innovative Program in Applied Natural Products, will be presented by Lana Dvorkin-Camiel, PharmD. Dvorkin-Camiel is an Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Natural Products Division Coordinator at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. To participate in her lecture, which will take place on December 2, 2008, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., please click here and call (616) 883-8055, access code 458-016-977.
Natural Standard values the opinions and views of
its readers and welcomes feedback and questions about the latest webinar event.
Also, if you have any suggestions for future webinar topics, please leave a
comment below or send an e-mail to questions@naturalstandard.com.
A new study suggests
that tomatoes genetically altered to be rich in antioxidants may increase the
life span in mice that are predisposed to cancer.
Using genes from the snapdragon flower, researchers in Europe modified tomatoes so they would contain high amounts of anthocyanins, which are powerful antioxidants commonly found in dark berries like blackberries and blueberries. The new genes also caused the tomatoes to become purple in the process.
Anthocyanins have been linked to a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and age-related degenerative diseases. However, many of the most commonly eaten fruits and vegetables may not contain enough anthocyanins to gain health benefits.
Mice genetically altered to be prone to cancer ate diets rich in the purple tomatoes or a standard diet with or without normal tomatoes. Those that ate the purple tomatoes lived significantly longer (182 days on average) than mice that ate standard diets (142 days on average).
Although the findings, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, are promising, more studies are needed to confirm these results.
Tomatoes naturally contain high levels of other antioxidants called lycopene and flavonoids. Lycopene is most abundant in highly processed tomatoes. Also, cooking tomatoes in oil helps the fruit release more lycopene. Flavonoids can be water soluble and fat soluble, so eating foods with water or fat is thought to increase the beneficial effects of these antioxidants.
For more information
about tomatoes and their antioxidants, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs & Supplements database. For
more information about genetically modified foods, please visit Natural Standard's Genomics &
Proteomics database.
A new study found that
some people may be predisposed to obesity because the rewards centers in their
brains do not respond as well as the average person. In order to boost their
satisfaction from eating, they may overindulge or choose high-calorie foods,
causing them to gain more weight.
When a person eats, the brain releases a brain chemical called dopamine, which is involved in the brain’s reward pathways. Dopamine causes pleasurable feelings during eating.
In the study, 43 women (aged 18-22 and 33) and 33 teenage girls (aged 14-18) consumed a chocolate milkshake and then a tasteless solution. While they drank each beverage, the researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine the activity in the dorsal striatum, part of the brain that expresses dopamine receptors.
The authors also tested the participants to determine which people had the TaqIA gene. People with this gene often have fewer dopamine receptors than average.
Then the researchers followed the participants for 12 months and recorded changes in their body mass indexes (BMIs).
The authors found that having less active striata was linked to an increased risk of becoming overweight, especially if they had the TaqIA gene.
For more information
about obesity, please visit Natural Standard’s Medical Conditions database.
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) released proposed guidelines for how it would regulate
genetically engineered (GE) animals to ensure that they are safe for humans and
the environment.
Scientists produce GE
animals by combining genes from different organisms to enhance their traits.
Although GE animals have been produced and studied in laboratories for many
years, meat from GE animals is not available for consumption in the United States.
The FDA's proposed guidelines focus on animals that would be used as foods or
whose blood or milk would be used to make medications.
The FDA plans to work
with agencies in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other federal
departments and agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
regulate the industry and develop coherent policies.
According to the
guidelines, producers of GE animals that are intended for food use will need to
prove to that their products are safe to eat. The FDA also plans to assess any
potential environmental impacts of GE animals.
The FDA does not plan
to require GE animal products to bear labels indicating that they are genetically
modified. Similarly, foods from GE plants dos not have to be labeled. However,
labeling may be required if the GE animal if different from its non-engineered
counterpart, for instance, if there was a change in its nutritional profile.
Although GE animal products are not on the market yet, GE produce has been sold for many years. According to the FDA and USDA, there are more than 40 genetically modified plants that have completed all of the federal requirements to be sold in the United States. Genetic engineering is commonly used in agriculture to improve resistance to diseases, pests and herbicides. It has also been used to improve taste and quality, reduce maturation time, increase nutrition and increase tolerance to extreme temperatures.
The public has the
opportunity to comment on the proposed guidelines, entitled "The
Regulation of Genetically Engineered Animals Containing Heritable rDNA
Constructs," until November 18, 2008.
"This is a
cutting-edge technology that has significant implications, including real
benefits, not just for human health, but also for animal health, such as
developing disease-resistant animals," said Center for Veterinary Medicine
Director Bernadette Dunham. "We look forward to the public comments to
help refine our thinking and approach."
For more
information about genetically modified foods, please visit Natural Standard's Genomics & Proteomics database.
A pair of studies has made discoveries
about the way mammals make and use different types of fat that may one day lead
to new treatments for obesity.
Although many people would prefer to have less fat, healthy levels of fat are needed to help regulate metabolism and keep the body warm. There are two main types of fat: white ("bad") fat and brown ("good") fat. White fat is much more common. It stores extra energy and contributes to obesity. Brown fat, on the other hand, burns calories by generating heat. Newborn babies have the most brown fat, while adults are thought to have very little. However, brown fat precursors remain in the body during adulthood.
The first mouse study identified a bone-forming protein, called "bone morphogenic protein 7" or BMP7, which is known to stimulate brown fat development. The researchers found that mice genetically altered to have no BMP7 had less brown fat than non-altered mice. Also, mice treated with artificially high levels of BMP7 had more brown fat than untreated mice, and they burned more calories.
The second study traced the origin of brown fat cells in mice. They found that by turning on a protein, called PRDM16, they could encourage immature muscle cells (called myoblasts) to produce brown fat cells instead. The authors showed that, contrary to what many researchers previously thought, brown and white cells do not share similar origins.
The study results may help provide
potential new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of obesity, according to
the authors. For example, increasing brown fat cell production may help people
burn more calories. However, rigorous research in humans is needed before the
results can be translated to people because brown fat appears to function
differently in mice.
Researchers have
identified a genetic abnormality that makes a person about nine times more
likely to develop colorectal cancer.
Researchers studied
242 people in central Ohio
with colorectal cancer and 195 people who did not have the disease. The researchers
found that people who had defective transforming growth factor beta receptor 1 (TGFBR1) genes were 8.7 times more likely to
develop colorectal cancer than those who lacked the abnormality.
The TGFBR1 gene normally helps protect
against cancer. People inherit two copies of this gene (one from their mother
and one from their father), and they usually produce equal amounts of the RNA
that is needed to make the TGFBR1 protein. But in some people, one of these two
genes is less active than the other. According to the study, 10-21 percent of
people with colorectal cancer and 1-3 percent of the general population have
this genetic abnormality.
An estimated one
million people develop colon cancer each year worldwide. It is the
third-most-common cancer in the United States, with 149,000 new cases and 50,000
deaths from the disease expected this year.
Colon cancer is difficult to detect, particularly in the
early stages of the disease, because it often does not cause symptoms. The
authors of this study suggest that simple blood tests that look for the genetic
mutation may help diagnose colon and rectal cancer early in the disease, when
it is most treatable.
However, the study
results need to be confirmed in larger trials that include more diverse
populations.
Two
new studies suggest that a type of gene therapy may be a safe and effective
treatment for erectile dysfunction.
Erectile
dysfunction, or ED, is the repeated inability to maintain an erection. An
estimated 15 to 30 million (20-40 percent) of American men suffer from ED. For
every 1,000 men between 40 and 69 years of age in the United States, 26 new
cases of ED are diagnosed every year. Worldwide, ED affects over 150 million
men.
Although
ED is more common in men older than 65, it can occur at any age. An occasional
episode happens to most men and is normal. But as men age, it is also normal to
experience changes in erectile function. Erections may take longer to develop,
may not be as rigid or may require more direct stimulation to be achieved. Men
may also notice that orgasms are less intense, the volume of ejaculate is
reduced and recovery time increases between erections.
ED
may be a result of lifestyle choices, such as smoking, being overweight, eating
unhealthy foods or avoiding exercise. It may also be psychological or result
from physical conditions, such as diabetes, vascular disease, surgery or
trauma, neurological conditions, hormone disorders and Peyronie's disease.
A
wide variety of options exist for ED including psychological counseling,
medications, mechanical devices and surgery. The cause and severity of the ED
are important factors in determining the best treatment or combination of
treatments for the individual. If ED is the result of a medical condition, the
cost of treatment may be covered by insurance.
The
researchers studied the effectiveness of a unique, locally-administered gene
transfer technique for treating ED. The therapy consisted of a plasmid, or
circular DNA construct, containing the gene for the Maxi-K protein.
This
protein makes up the Maxi-K ion channel, which is a potassium channel;
activation of this channel is critical for relaxing the vasculature and allowing
an erection to take place.
The
plasmid was designed to express Maxi-K in vascular smooth muscle cells and was
injected into men with moderate to severe ED.
According
to the study authors, human tests have primarily focused on safety. Animal
tests have demonstrated that the therapy increases erectile function and other
measures of sexual behavior.
The
researchers suggested that men with ED could get the gene therapy treatment
twice a year, based on human and animal research showing that the treatment
lasts for up to six months.
They
also observed that the gene therapy may work synergistically with drugs such as
Viagra® and Cialis®, allowing patients to take lower doses of these
medications.
The
gene therapy appears safe; in humans no transfer-related adverse events were
reported during two years of follow up. The study authors noted that unlike
conventional oral therapies for ED, Maxi-K therapy does not require prior
planning thereby enabling sexual spontaneity; also, it can be used by men taking
heart medications.
The
authors concluded that Maxi-K gene therapy may be a safe and effective future
option for men whose ED is not treatable with oral therapy.
Some
tips for preventing ED include limiting or avoiding the use of alcohol and
other recreational drugs (marijuana, cocaine), quitting smoking, exercising
regularly (at least 30 minutes daily), reducing stress, getting enough sleep
(eight hours a night), dealing with anxiety or depression (through counseling
and medication) and seeing a doctor for regular checkups and medical screening
tests. Although it may be uneasy to talk about, ED is a treatable condition and
should be discussed with a healthcare professional.
