Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com

On any given day, some person in the world will be drinking tea. Tea plays an important role in modern culture. For example, visit restaurants and cafes, and you´ll see families and friends chatting and sipping tea. Even with tea´s omnipresence, a new study reveals that tea may possibly be harmful to certain consumers. In particular, researchers recently found that male tea drinkers may be more at risk of developing prostate cancer.

For the project, the health of over 6,000 male volunteers was tracked over a 37-year period by a team of researchers from Glasgow University. The findings showed that men who consumed over seven cups of tea per day had a 50 percent greater chance of having prostate cancer than those who drank tea moderately or didn´t drink tea at all. The group of investigators stated that they were not sure if tea was a risk factor or if tea drinkers lived up to ages where cancer was more prevalent.

“We found that heavy tea drinkers were more likely not to be overweight, be non alcohol-drinkers and have healthy cholesterol levels,” noted Dr. Kashif Shafique of Glasgow University´s Institute of Health and Wellbeing in a BBC News article. “However, we did adjust for these differences in our analysis and still found that men who drank the most tea were at greater risk of prostate cancer.”

The project, titled the Midspan Collaborative Study and led by Shafique, started in 1970 in Scotland. The scientists reported data from 6,016 male volunteers who were between the ages of 21 and 75. Volunteers completed a questionnaire regarding their usual consumption of alcohol, coffee, tea, smoking habits, as well as general health. Apart from the questionnaire, researchers conducted a screening exam. In the group of participants, 6.4 percent developed prostate cancer when scientists completed a follow-up visit 37 years later. Based on the results, researchers concluded that there was a correlation between those who drank more than seven cups of tea a day and those who had a significant increase in the risk for prostate cancer.

“Most previous research has shown either no relationship with prostate cancer for black tea or some preventive effect of green tea,” Sahfique told BBC News. “We don’t know whether tea itself is a risk factor or if tea drinkers are generally healthier and live to an older age when prostate cancer is more common anyway.”

Regarding the findings, some believe that the study has limitations.

“Whilst it does appear that – of the 6,000 men who took part in this study – those who drank seven or more cups of tea each day had an increased risk of developing prostate cancer, this did not take into consideration family history or any other dietary elements other than tea, coffee and alcohol intake,” commented Dr. Kate Holmes, head of research at the Prostate Cancer Charity, in the BBC News article. “We would therefore not wish any man to be concerned that drinking a moderate amount of tea as part of a healthy diet will put them at an increased risk of developing prostate cancer.”

Others have stated that they will continue drinking tea.

“As usual you get evidence on one side and you get evidence on the other and you’re left in the middle trying to decide who’s right but I have to say, I don’t think tea is very high on the agenda if you’re looking at diet, lifestyle and so on,” remarked Chris Garner, a member of Edinburgh and Lothian Prostate Cancer Support Group, in the BBC News article. “There are other things which come well above tea.”

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com

Scientists whittled through thousands of food choices and have come up with the healthiest menu ever created.

Leatherhead Food Research scientists looked over 4,000 health claims made by food manufacturers and supermarkets, trying to determine whether there was truth to the claims, or if it was just a marketing ploy.

The team was able to trim down the number to only 222 that were able to match with science what their maker claimed.

The researchers then used the remaining food to create a menu of the healthiest food ever.

“I had spent 3 days talking about health claims and at a round table event I suggested that Leatherhead could make a product with all 222 claims, no problem! It wasn’t that simple, but we did it within one week,” Dr. Paul Berryman, the Leatherhead chief executive, said in a statement.

The menu includes superfoods that can provide you with a meal, as well as plenty of snacks and treats that promote healthy benefits.

Some of the health components highlight Omega 3 fish oils, which cuts down cholesterol, and folates, which are found in high-fiber multigrain bread.

The menu starts off with an item that could be a main course: fresh smoked salmon terrine. This meal contains Omega 3 and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is good for the arteries, heart and brain.

They also concocted a mixed leaf salad with a dressing of virgin olive oil, which is good for maintaining normal cholesterol levels. Chicken casserole with lentils and mixed vegetables is another main meal that could safely make 80 health claims, according to the researchers.

For dessert, menu onlookers may want to try a live yogurt-based blancmange topped with walnuts and a sugar-free caramel-flavored sauce that scored good for digestion, the teeth and blood glucose control.

Another dessert on the menu, guar gum, is said to help in the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol, while contributing to an increase in “intestinal transit.”

Eating walnuts, according to the research, is proven to “contribute to the improvement of the elasticity of blood vessels.”

Scientists also include their own sports drink brew that they claim could boost performance. This drink includes nutrients like biotin, calcium, zinc, chromium, copper, iron, potassium, selenium and magnesium.

For those who would rather have a hot drink to relax with, scientists have created a hot chocolate drink that contains melatonin to help you sleep.

If you tend to get gassy after meals, the researches recommend that you take activated charcoal tablets to help calm down the stomach and reduce excessive flatulence.

“We have also shown that healthy foods do not have to be dull,” Berryman said in the statement. “We carry out thousands of consumer taste tests a year and one thing is clear. No matter how healthy, if foods do not taste good they will not sell.”

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com

Marijuana screening tests performed on newborns can be contaminated by use of common baby soaps and shampoos that give false-positive results, a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has found.

According to the researchers, just a minute amount — 0.1 milliliters or less — of the products found in a urine sample was enough to give the positive result. The results could prove frightening for parents, who, in some states, may have their children taken away because of a false-positive screening.

The Chapel Hill team began studying the issue after an unusually high number of newborns in the nursery began testing positive for exposure to marijuana. Such tests are not uncommon, being given to newborns of women who are considered at high risk of drug use. At Chapel Hill, between 10 and 40 percent of newborns are tested.

“We really did this to help protect families from being falsely accused,” study co-author Dr. Carl Seashore, a pediatrician in the U.N.C. Chapel Hill newborn nursery, told My Health News Daily.

The team found five baby products that trigger the false positive results: Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash, Aveeno Baby Wash Shampoo, CVS Night-Time Baby Bath, Johnson & Johnson´s Bedtime Bath, and Johnson & Johnson Head-to-Toe Baby Wash.

Some other baby products tested, including CVS Baby Magic and some standard hospital gel soaps, also indicated presence of marijuana metabolites when tested, but were not sufficient enough to produce a positive result on a screening test, according to the team´s standards.

Seashore said the problem is almost certainly not limited to baby products. He and colleagues found that most soaps and shampoos that contain polyquaternium-11 and cocamidopropyl betaine elicited positive marijuana test results.

The research team said they do not yet know why these chemicals interfere with the test´s function, however, they noted, they do not cause symptoms of marijuana exposure in children. They believe that tiny amounts of the chemicals were simply washing off the babies´ skin into their urine samples and contaminating the tests.

While more sophisticated tests can easily distinguish between true and false positive results, most hospitals do not use them because they are costly. Still, it is unclear why hospitals test infants for marijuana exposure in the first place.

Twelve states designate prenatal exposure to any illegal drug as child abuse, even though there is no scientific evidence that connects marijuana-use with abuse. And it remains unclear if the benefits of such tests, if any, justify the potential harm it can cause on families.

“If the issue is that the mother broke the law and therefore the child should be removed, we might want to consider going after mothers who exceed the speed limit while driving,” Carl Hart, an associate professor of psychology at Columbia University and author of a leading text on drug effects, told TIME. “Of course, this is ridiculous.”

Removing children from their home at birth because of a positive marijuana test is immediately and inexorably harmful, Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform told TIME’s Maia Szalavitz.

“Even when the test is accurate, there is no evidence that smoking pot endangers children,” he said. However, he added, “there is overwhelming evidence that needless foster care endangers children.”

The odds of abuse and neglect are much higher in foster care, Wexler said. “These infants are being taken from homes where there is no evidence of abuse, and placed in a situation where the odds of abuse are at least 1 in 4. The odds of this kind of separation doing emotional damage are nearly 100 percent. Children risk enormous emotional trauma when they are torn from their mothers during a crucial period for infant-parent bonding.”

Wexler noted that one study of infants exposed to cocaine in the womb found that their physical growth and development increased when they remained with their biological parents, compared with those who were removed from the home. “For the foster children, being taken from their mothers was more toxic than the cocaine,” he said.

While maternal cocaine use during pregnancy has been linked with subtle developmental problems in children, for the most part it is no worse than women who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy, and doing both can increase the risk of preterm birth and stillbirth. But neither are as dangerous as alcohol, which can cause irreversible intellectual disability.

The evidence on marijuana use during pregnancy is inconclusive — some studies have linked marijuana use to reduced fetal growth and behavioral problems, while others have found no effect whatsoever.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) notes that, since immunoassay drug test results only indicate the presence of a simple chemical reaction, not the actual drug itself or its metabolite, these tests must always be confirmed.

But, he added, most of these drug tests provide very little useful information about whether someone actually used a particular substance, when they last used a particular substance, or whether they were impaired at the time they were tested.

So be watchful and keep these findings in mind next time you have to take such a drug test, says Armentano.

If you also consider the risks of false-positive results due to bath soaps and shampoos, it doesn´t make sense to continue these types of marijuana tests, especially on newborns.

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com

Apes and humans are thought to be intertwined in evolutionary theory, but how about fish and humans? A new study utilized zebrafish in a study regarding human brain disorders. In particular, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers recently revealed that they took a fresh approach to understanding the roles of genes linked to autism and demonstrated how zebrafish could be utilized in examining the genes that contribute to human brain disorders.

The group of researchers was led by developmental biologist Hazel Sive in studying around two dozen genes that were identified as missing or duplicated in around one percent of autistic patients. While most of the genes´ functions were not known, the MIT study showed that almost all of them led to brain abnormalities when eliminated from zebrafish embryos. The results of the study should help investigators determine genes for future study of mammals. Since autism is thought to be the result of a number of genetic defects, the research is part of a larger effort to determine culprit genes and create treatments that can work focus on those genes.

“That´s really the goal–to go from an animal that shares molecular pathways, but doesn´t get autistic behaviors, into humans who have the same pathways and do show these behaviors,” remarked Sive, a professor biology and associate dean of MIT´s School of Science, in a prepared statement.

Sive believes that brain disorders are not necessarily easy to study as symptoms are behavioral and the biological mechanisms propelling those behaviors are not studied often. She describes genes as similar across species, conserved throughout evolution even though they may control different outcomes in different species. Sive and colleagues looked at a genetic region called 16p11.2, a region whose “core” includes 25 genes.

“We thought that since we really know so little, that a good place to start would be with the genes that confer risk in humans to various mental health disorders, and to study these various genes in a system where they can readily be studied,” explained Sive in the statement.

In the region 16p11.2, deletions and duplications in the region have been linked to autism but it´s been unclear as to which genes created symptoms of the disease.

“At the time, there was an inkling about some of them, but very few,” noted Sive in the statement.

As such, Sive and other researchers began looking at zebrafish genes that were analogous to the human genes found in region 16p11.2. They examined one gene at a time, using short strands of nucleic acids to silence genes that focused on a particular gene and prevented its protein from being created. As such, silencing caused abnormal development for 21 of the genes. Many created brain deficits, such as improved development of the brain or eyes, thinning of the brain, or inflation of the brain ventricles. Abnormalities in the wiring of axons, which carried messages to other neurons, were also discovered. The researchers concluded that the 16p11.2 genes were crucial to brain development and gained a better understanding of the association between the region and brain disorders. The team was able to restore normal development for the fish with treatments of human equivalents of the genes that had been silenced.

“That allows you to deduce that what you´re learning in fish corresponds to what that gene is doing in humans. The human gene and the fish gene are very similar,” commented Sive in the statement.

Through the research results, the group determined two genes that had a strong effect in autism and other brain disorders. They looked at genes that led to abnormal development when their activity was reduced in half. One of the genes, kif22, coded for proteins that participated in the separation of chromosomes for cell division. Another gene, adolase a, participated in gylcolysis, which breaks down sugar to create energy for the cell.

“This is really nice work that shows the importance of zebrafish in revealing disease mechanisms related to human mental disorders – in this case, autism,” mentioned Su Guo, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California at San Francisco who´s unaffiliated in the study, in the statement.

The research is published in a recent paper in the online edition of the journal Disease Models and Mechanisms.

Image 2 (below): Zebrafish with certain genes turned off during embryonic development (center and right images) showed abnormalities of brain formation (top row) and axon wiring (bottom row). At left is a normally developing zebrafish embryo. Image: Sive Lab

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com

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When shopping for salad dressing, the flavors can run the gamut. Thousand Island, Ranch, Sweet and Sour, and others — not to mention the dozen options of fat, non-fat, and low-fat. However, a new study helps consumers better understand what dressings can help them absorb the most nutrients. Researchers from Purdue University found that certain salad dressings can help consumers get the best nutrients and vitamins from their salad.

In the study, the researchers observed participants who were fed salads with saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fat-based dressings. The investigators then measured the participants´ blood to better understand the absorption of fat-soluble cartenoids, which are compounds like lutein, lycopene, beta-carotene, and zeaxanthin. The cartenoids are also linked to a decrease in various chronic and degenerative disease like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration. Results from the study showed that monounsaturated fat-rich dressings needed the least amount of fat to obtain the most cartenoid absorption, while saturated fat and polyunsaturated fat dressings needed higher amounts of fat to have the same result.

“If you want to utilize more from your fruits and vegetables, you have to pair them correctly with fat-based dressings,” explained lead author Mario Ferruzzi, a Purdue associate professor of food science, in a prepared statement. “If you have a salad with a fat-free dressing, there is a reduction in calories, but you lose some of the benefits of the vegetables.”

In the project, 29 people were given salads served with butter as saturated fat, canola oil as a monosaturated fat, and corn oil as a polyunsaturated fat. Each salad had three grams, eight grams, or 20 grams of fat from the dressing. The dressing that was the most dependent on dosage was the soybean oil, which was rich in polyunsaturated fat. The saturated fat butter was also dependent on dosage, but not as much as the soybean oil. The researchers found that the more fat on the salad, the more cartenoids the participants absorbed.

As well, monosaturated fat-rich dressings, like canola and olive oil-based dressings, showed cartenoid absorption at three grams of fat as it did at 20 grams of fat. Researchers believe that this showed that this lipid source would be a good option for those who wanted to consume lower fat options, but still wanted to have optimal absorption of cartenoids from vegetables. Furthermore, the findings were based off of a 2004 Iowa State University study that investigated whether cartenoids could better be absorbed by the intestines if aligned with a full-fat dressing instead of a low-fat or fat-free dressing.

“Even at the lower fat level, you can absorb a significant amount of cartenoids with monounsaturated fat-rich canola oil,” Ferruzzi said in the statement. “Overall, pairing with fat matters. You can absorb significant amounts of carotenoids with saturated or polyunsaturated fats at low levels, but you would see more carotenoid absorption as you increase the amounts of those fats on a salad.”

In continuing the project, the researchers will investigate how meal patterning can influence nutrient absorption. Ferruzi hopes to better understand if people gain more nutrients by eating vegetables during one specific time or when consuming vegetables throughout the day. The current research findings will be published online in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com

Walking in the aisle of a produce section of a supermarket, you´ll be bombarded by a variety of fragrant smells and bright colors. With so many choices these days, it can be quite difficult to pick out the best healthy fruits and veggies. Luckily, a new study points to fruits that have beneficial qualities. Texas AgriLife Research recently discovered that peaches, plums, and nectarines have bioactive compounds that can possibly stave off obesity-related diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

To begin, Texas AgriLife Research focuses on agriculture, life sciences, and natural resources. It is made up of 13 research centers and is an agency of the Texas A&M University System, collaborating with Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, as well as other organizations. According to Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, an AgriLife Research food scientist, the study shows how the compounds in stone fruits could protect against “metabolic syndrome” where obesity and inflammation could result in serious health issues.

“In recent years obesity has become a major concern in society due to the health problems associated to it,” remarked Cisneros-Zevallos, an associate professor at Texas A&M University, in a prepared statement. “In the U.S., statistics show that around 30 percent of the population is overweight or obese, and these cases are increasing every year in alarming numbers.”

Cisneros-Zevallos points to factors like lifestyle, genetic predisposition, and diet as affecting the possibility of developing obesity but states that metabolic syndrome has the greatest influence.

“Our studies have shown that stone fruits — peaches, plums and nectarines — have bioactive compounds that can potentially fight the syndrome,” explained Cisneros-Zevallos in the statement. “Our work indicates that phenolic compounds present in these fruits have anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties in different cell lines and may also reduce the oxidation of bad cholesterol LDL which is associated to cardiovascular disease.”

In addition, the fruits have a combination of bioactive compounds that work together within the three different areas of the disease.

“Our work shows that the four major phenolic groups — anthocyanins, clorogenic acids, quercetin derivatives and catechins — work on different cells — fat cells, macrophages and vascular endothelial cells,” noted Cisneros-Zevallos in the statement. “They modulate different expressions of genes and proteins depending on the type of compound. However, at the same time, all of them are working simultaneously in different fronts against the components of the disease, including obesity, inflammation, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

Cisneros-Zevallos and his team of researchers plan to study the effect each compound has on the molecular mechanisms and to confirm the results with mice studies. The project was collaboratively funded by the California Tree Fruit Agreement, The California Plum Board, the California Grape and Tree Fruit League, and the Texas Department of Agriculture. The research results will be presented at the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia this upcoming August.

“Bioactive compounds of a fruit have been shown to potentially work in different fronts against a disease,” concluded Cisneros-Zevallos in the statement. “Each of these stone fruits contain similar phenolic groups but in differing proportions so all of them are a good source of health promoting compounds and may complement each other.”

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is planning to take another look at their 15-year-old cell phone safety standards to determine whether or not users of the mobile devices are being adequately protected from emitted radiation, various media outlets reported over the weekend.

On Friday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski sent out a notice of inquiry to fellow commissioners, asking them to conduct a new investigation in order to answer a series of questions regarding the current standards, according to Ed Oswald of PCWorld and Marguerite Reardon of CNET. This will mark the first time since 1996 that cell phone guidelines have been reviewed, but an FCC spokesman told Oswald that the process was simply “a routine review of its own policies.”

“The FCC hopes to get comments from the public on the issue,” Reardon said. “It has not set a time-frame for when the comment period will end. And the agency also has not said whether it will update the current rules and standards. In fact, there’s a chance the commission may leave the current limits in place. A representative for the agency said the checkup is a routine review of the standards and was not prompted by any new developments or complaints about cell phone safety.”

“We are confident that, as set, the emissions guidelines for devices pose no risks to consumers,” FCC spokesperson Tammy Sun said in a statement, according to CNET. “The United States has the most conservative emissions standards in the world. Our action today is a routine review of our standards. We hope and expect that other federal agencies and organizations with whom we work with on this issue will participate in the process.”

The debate over health risks posed by mobile phones has been a long-standing one. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported last May that they believed that the devices are carcinogenic, Oswald said, while manufacturers deny the existence of such health-related issues.

“There have been concerns that radio-frequency energy from phones held close to the head may affect the brain and other tissues, according to the National Cancer Institute, part of the U.S. government´s National Institutes of Health,” writes Bloomberg News reporter Todd Shields. “The cancer institute said on its website that studies of cells, animals and humans haven´t produced evidence that radiofrequency energy can cause cancer.” Likewise, Shields noted that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had “found no evidence linking wireless phone use to heightened risk of brain tumors, according to its website.”

According to Reardon, current FCC standards are based on an algorithm which measure’s a cell phone user’s specific absorption rate (SAR), or the rate at which a person’s body absorbs energy from a radio-frequency magnetic field. In order to be considered safe for use in the US, a cell phone must have an SAR of less than 1.6 watts per kilogram over a volume that contains a 1 gram mass of tissue, she added.

“Some experts say the review is long overdue. The current standards are based on behavioral research conducted on animals in the 1980s,” she said. “The FCC has admitted that the SAR levels are only intended to ensure that a cell phone doesn’t exceed the FCC’s maximum permissible exposure levels even when operating in conditions that result in the device’s highest possible radio-frequency (RF) energy absorption for a user. But they’re not intended to be used as a way to compare specific devices and make conclusions about their overall safety.”

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com

Graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging can improve smokers’ recall of the health risks associated with smoking, according to a study by the Perelman School of Medicine at UPenn.

The findings on the study of 200 smokers, presented in the online edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that 83 percent were able to remember the health warning if it was accompanied by a graphic image, and only 50 percent remembered text-only warnings.

Studies conducting in the past have in Europe and Canada have shown that graphic warning labels were effective in eliciting negative responses to smoking. However, past studies were confounded by concurrent tax increases and anti-smoking ad campaigns that coincided with the introduction of new warning labels.

In the latest study, researchers, led by Andrew A. Strasser, PhD, Department of Psychiatry at UPenn, the participants were randomized to view either text-only warning label ads, which were unaltered and utilized the Surgeon General´s warning and FTC testing information that has appeared on cigarette ads since 1985; or a graphic warning label version that contained an image depicting a hospitalized patient on a ventilator along with a health warning in large text, similar to what the FDA has proposed.

The team used state-of-the-art eye tracking technology to aid in their study.

After each participant viewed the ad, he or she was asked to write down the warning to test how well they remembered the information. The faster the smoker´s eyes were drawn to the text in the graphic warning and the longer they viewed the image, the more likely they were to remember the information correctly, the study found.

“An important first step in evaluating the true efficacy of the warning labels is to demonstrate if smokers can correctly recall its content or message,” said Strasser. “Based on this new research, we now have a better understanding of two important questions about how U.S. smokers view graphic warning labels: do smokers get the message and how do they get the message.”

This research “provides valuable insight into how the warning labels may be effective, which may serve to create more effective warning labels in the future,” noted Strasser. “We´re hopeful that once the graphic warning labels are implemented, we will be able to make great strides in helping people to be better informed about their risks, and to convince them to quit smoking”

He noted that further studies on the size, font, color, and location of text may identify the most effective way to draw attention to the health risks associated with smoking.

The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act authorized the FDA to require graphic warning labels be added to cigarette packaging. The labels were originally mandated to appear in September 2012, but the measure has been held up in court.

In April the UK government launched a consultation seeking views on whether tobacco products should be sold with standardized packaging. It is currently exploring the options of no branding appearing on the package, using a uniform color for all packages and using a standard font, text or image on the package.

The consultation has been welcomed by the Tobacco Manufacturers´ Association. However, it said there was no reliable evidence that plain packaging would reduce the rates of smoking in youth.

“We believe the government should quash the idea of plain packaging, which only serves to make counterfeiting cigarettes easier and make stock-taking and serving customers harder for legitimate retailers,” Jaine Chisholm Caunt, the secretary-general of the TMA, told BBC News.

Australia is currently the only country which has so far agreed to plain packaging and a ban on branding on cigarette packaging.

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com

Researchers from Leeds University and the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) recently announced that they discovered how a common cold virus could be beneficial in eliminating tumors and jump starting an immune response when injected into the blood stream. This new finding could have an impact on the creation of new forms of cancer treatments.

Reoviruses are thought to cause stomach pains and colds in children. However, according to Reuters Health, the viruses can also shield antibodies in the blood stream “by hitching a ride on blood cells” that could have neutralized its powers to combat cancer. Viral therapies, such as the reovirus mentioned, could be completed at routine appointments for outpatients, similar to what is done currently with standard chemotherapy.

“Viral treatments like reovirus are showing real promise in patient trials. This study gives us the very good news that it should be possible to deliver these treatments with a simple injection into the blood stream,” explained co-author Kevin Harrington in a recent statement.

As well, reovirus has been studied by research teams worldwide as it has the power to infect and kill cancer cells without harming normal tissue. The experiment by ICR and Leeds University proved that reovirus works in two areas, particularly in eliminating cancer cells and then starting an immune response that could assist in killing extra cancer cells. Researchers believe that, if the treatment only killed when injected straight to tumors, it would have been problematic when applied to widespread use.

“But the finding that they can hitch a ride on blood cells will potentially make them relevant to a broad range of cancers,” noted Harrington. “We also confirmed that reovirus was specifically targeting cancer cells and leaving normal cells alone, which we hope should mean fewer side-effects for patients.”

The project involved 10 patients who had advanced bowel cancer and who were scheduled to undergo surgery to remove tumors that had advanced to their livers. The participants were given five doses of the experimental reovirus treatment during outpatient appointments prior to the surgery. Four weeks later, researchers examined tissue that was removed during the surgery. They found “viral factories” of the active virus in the tumor, but not in normal liver tissue. This showed that, following injection into the blood stream, the reovirus had targeted the cancer cells.

“It seems that reovirus is even cleverer than we had thought,” noted Alan Melcher, a University of Leeds researcher. “By piggybacking on blood cells, the virus is managing to hide from the body’s natural immune response and reach its target intact. This could be hugely significant for the uptake of viral therapies like this in clinical practice.”

Those involved in the medical community are optimistic that these viral therapies could possibly treat a variety of cancers.

“This study is an important next step in advancing oncolytic virus therapies into cancer patients,” John Bell, professor at the University of Ottawa who studies genetically modified viruses to fight cancer cells, told BBC News.

According to Reuters Health, 7.6 million people died from cancer throughout the world in 2008. By 2030, it is estimated that the number of cancer cases will increase to over 75 percent worldwide. The study was partially funded by the charity Cancer Research UK and the report was published in a recent edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com

A successful transplant operation in Sweden points to a medical future where your doctor can grow a transplant organ from your own cells, making organ donation a thing of the past.

Doctors have now successfully transplanted a vein grown with a patient’s own stem cells without complications or the need for immunosuppressants, according to a report published this week in The Lancet. The patient was a 10-year-old girl in Sweden who was suffering from a potentially fatal blockage in the vein which drains blood from the intestines and spleen to the liver.

Last March, a team of doctors at the University of Gothenburg decided to grow the new blood vessel used to bypass the blocked vein instead of using an invasive neck or leg surgery to extract one of her own.

“The young girl in this report was spared the trauma of having veins harvested from the deep neck or leg with the associated risk of lower limb disorders, and avoided the need for a liver or multivisceral transplantation,” Martin Birchall and George Hamilton of University College London wrote in The Lancet.

To start the procedure, doctors took a three-inch section of a cadaver groin vein and stripped it of all living cells, leaving only an inert protein structure. The team then injected it with blood-forming stem cells taken from the girl´s bone marrow. After growing the vein for two weeks in an incubator, the stem cells had multiplied and converted into vein wall cells, to create a biologically-engineered replacement. The new vein was then implanted into the patient a year ago.

“The new stem-cells derived graft resulted not only in good blood flow rates and normal laboratory test values but also, in strikingly improved quality of life for the patient,” the report said.

In noting the success of the transplant, the doctors reported that the patient grew 2 inches and gained 11 pounds over the following year. In addition, her parents said that she was more physically active, had improved articulated speech, and had concentrated better on her studies.

The only major complication was the slight constriction of the vein nine months after the operation, which was corrected in a follow-up procedure. During the course of following up on the operation, scientists found no antibodies for the donor vein in the girl’s blood. This meant her body was not rejecting the transplant because it was recognized as being made of her own cells.

The successful operation marks the latest step in the evolution of transplant technology. Over the past 40 years, the field has gone from using artificial materials to chemically-treated bovine tissues to grafting tissue from patient´s own body.

The Swedish team said the girl´s successful operation opened “interesting new areas of research”, including the possibility of creating bio-engineered replacement blood vessels for heart bypass surgery patients.

The operation also brings attention to the burgeoning field of ℠regenerative medicine´. Two years ago, a 10-year-old British boy became the first child in the world to receive a stem-cell grown trachea. The windpipe was also based on a scaffold taken from an organ donor.

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com

Brush up. Brush down. Brush to the left. Brush to the right. Then floss. This isn´t any ordinary dance routine — this is a description of the steps to take when brushing your teeth. Researchers in Sweden recently announced that an increased amount of dental plaque has been found to affect the risk of premature cancer death.

The observational study was published in the June 11 edition of the BMJ Open online journal and focuses on data that was collected between 1985 and 2009 from 1,390 Swedish adults. At the beginning of the project, all the participants were tested on factors that could possibly increase their risk of cancer and they also had their oral hygiene assessed. In the 24 years after the initial test, 58 patients died, 35 of which had passed away due to cancer. According to the Telegraph, plaque consists of a film of bacteria that covers the gap between the teeth and gums as well as the surfaces of the teeth.

The researchers found that those who died had a higher amount of dental plaque on their teeth than those who lived longer. The people who died had scored among 0.84 to 0.91, which signaled that plaque had covered a significant area of the gums of their teeth. On the other hand, those who lived longer consistently showed scores around 0.66 and 0.67, which signified that plaque, only covered partial areas of the gums.

The researchers stated that the average age of death for women was 61 and the average age of death for males was 60. Their deaths could have been premature, as the women were expected to live 13 years longer and the males were expected to live an extra 8.5 years. The findings propose a possible connection between cancer and oral hygiene.

“Based on the present findings, the high bacterial load on tooth surfaces and in gingival pockets over a prolonged time may indeed play a role in carcinogenesis,” noted the authors in the report.

Furthermore, even though the research doesn´t look at the connection between gum inflammation and cancer, the two may be related.

“Bacteria in the gums may trigger local inflammation, and these bacteria and inflammatory markers don’t just stay where they are,” Dr. Joel Epstein, director of oral medicine at the City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, California, told MSN Health. “They are measurable in the blood, so it becomes systemic and widely distributed.”

Some believe that the findings make sense.

“There have been reports recently of a connection between certain cancers and oral plaque accumulation,” commented Saul Presser, a dentist in New York City, in the MSN Health article. “When one has a lot of dental plaque, this means that more microorganisms are present than if there was minimal plaque in the mouth. It has been shown that certain cancers can be related to some viruses and other microorganisms.”

Others are more skeptical and believe that the findings raise more questions than provide answers.

“This study does not answer the question of whether or not dental plaque leads to cancer death,” explained Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, in the MSN Health article. “We only know how many people died, so we don’t know if there is an increase in the incidence of cancer among people with plaque, or if, perhaps, it renders them more susceptible to treatment-associated infection.”

Even with these conflicting opinions, authors warn that the results do not prove completely that dental plaque affects or initiates risk of cancer. In previous research, dental plaque, which is a possible cause of infections and signals poor hygiene, has been seen to be related to systemic problems. The scientists believe that more research needs to be done to better understand the connection between the two.

“Our study hypothesis was confirmed by the finding that poor (mouth) hygiene, as reflected in the amount of dental plaque, was associated with increased cancer mortality,” they write. “Further studies are required to determine whether there is any causal element in the observed association.”

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com

Chips. Soda. Candy. These are a just a few examples of cheap food that is readily available for consumers at a low price. A recent report by California watchdog group Eat Drink Politics challenges the federal government to release information regarding the amount of unhealthy food and sugary soda that is paid for with food stamps; they believe that disclosure of this information is necessary in understanding the obesity epidemic.

The timing of the publication of the report coincides with a health epidemic that the U.S. is facing in trying to rein in costs of diet-related illnesses. According to Reuters Health, more than one-third of adults in the U.S. and one-fifth of U.S. children are obese. To combat these issues, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently proposed banning the sales of oversized sugary drinks at various locations including at mobile food carts, movie theaters, and restaurants. McDonalds and Coca Cola Co. have protested against the proposals and critics have claimed that it would make New York into a nanny state. As well, the challenge by Eat Drink Politics highlights how the federal nutrition-assistance program, used by around one in every seven Americans, should support healthier eating habits along with fighting hunger.

“The federal government should not be fueling America’s epidemic of diet-related chronic disease with taxpayer money,” remarked Michele Simon, president of Eat Drink Politics, in the Reuters Health article.

The report, titled “Food Stamps: Follow the Money,” specifically asks that there be disclosure regarding the redemptions paid to individual companies, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., as well as banks that have contracts to process the electronic benefits, such as JP Morgan Chase. The paper discusses how high unemployment and a slow economic recovery have increased participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps. In 2011, spending for the program was $71.8 billion; this is an increase from 2007, where the program spent $30.4 billion.

“SNAP’s tagline is ‘putting healthy food within reach.’ Without data on how much money is being spent on Coke versus orange juice, or Lucky Charms versus oatmeal, how will we ever evaluate the nutrition goals of the program?” commented Simon in the Reuters Health article.

In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), who administers the food stamps program, stated that capturing food data at checkout stands with the program processing system was not cost effective. However, other national data sources are thought to be given an accurate depiction of the consumption of SNAP participants. As well, the department did mention that it has a number of projects in development to capture information on food purchases.

“We are preparing to launch a new feasibility study to see if today’s system environment makes this approach more feasible,” Bruce Alexander, the spokesman for the USDA, told Reuters Health.

Anti-hunger organizations and groups that represent food industry retailers, food, beverage companies, and fast-food chains caution against decreasing food options and believe that the restrictions proposed will increase stigmatization of food stamp users. They believe that accessing data on SNAP food purchase is difficult and expensive, as different companies categorize products differently.

“Our focus should be on protecting SNAP from harmful cuts and structural changes and strengthening participation, not adding additional complications to the program,” noted Maura Daly, a spokeswoman for hunger-relief charity Feeding America, in the Reuters Health article.

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com

Have you not been sleeping well lately? According to research, maybe you should try getting yourself a nightlight.

Researchers have found that some people who experience insomnia could actually be treated for a phobia of the dark.

The team used Toronto college students for the study, and found that nearly half of the students who experienced sleep disturbances also reported having a phobia of the dark.

They confirmed this by measuring blink response to sudden noise bursts in light and dark surroundings.

During the study, the good sleepers became accustomed to the noise bursts, but the poor sleepers grew more anxious when the lights were down.

“The poor sleepers were more easily startled in the dark compared with the good sleepers,” Taryn Moss, the study’s lead author, said in a press release.

“As treatment providers, we assume that poor sleepers become tense when the lights go out because they associate the bed with being unable to sleep. Now we’re wondering how many people actually have an active and untreated phobia.”

Insomnia affects about 30 percent of adults within a given year, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Up to 15 percent of the insomnia patients have chronic insomnia.

Colleen Carney, PhD, the principal investigator, decided to focus on fear of the dark for a study on insomnia patients after hearing many people with the infliction sleep with a light or TV on.

For the study, the team asked 93 men and women with an average age of 22 to complete a questionnaire about sleep habits. They then assigned them to a poor-sleeper group or good-sleeper group.

The team found that 42 of the sleepers reported to be in the poor sleeper group, while 51 were in the good sleeper group.

Just about one-quarter of the good sleeper group had reported that they were afraid of the dark, according to the study.

Carney said for those who experience insomnia due to fear of the dark should work on the phobia itself.

“We may need to add treatment components for these patients and adapt existing treatment components in light of the phobia,” Carney said. “A lot more research is needed, but we believe we have stumbled across an unmet treatment need for some poor sleepers.”

Carney also said that phobias often respond very quickly to treatment with exposure therapy.

The study from Ryerson University Sleep & Depression Lab was presented on Monday at SLEEP 2012, which is the 26th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Boston.

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com

Head to toe. Top to bottom. Full body heath begins with the eyes. A recent study backs this theory and shows that an eye test could help doctors diagnose a stroke before it happens, which would help save lives. Researchers at the University of Zurich reported that a simple eye test could possibly in the future alert patients who are at risk for having a stroke.

The ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) is an exam that can help detect carotid artery stenosis (CAS), which clogs or blocks arteries from supporting the front part of the brain; this can lead to a stroke. An ophthalmologist could do the OPA test during routine visits. The findings, published in the June issue of Ophthalmology, show that those who had the lowest OPA scores ended up also having the most clogged arteries.

The research team utilized the dynamic contour tonometer, which can check the OPA of patients. 67 patients, who were thought to have CAS, were checked with the device. To find the OPA score, the difference between the two pressure levels were calculated; the occurring levels were the diastolic and systolic phases. The tonometer measures these two pressure levels, then determines the patient´s OPA score. The project found that patients who demonstrated the lowest OPA score had arteries that were the most seriously blocked. The researchers utilized ultrasound studies to double check that each patient had CAS and to look at the severity of the patient´s blockage.

“Our results show that ocular pulse amplitude is a reliable, safe screening test for carotid artery stenosis,” commented lead researcher Dr. Pascal Bruno Knecht in a prepared statement. “We recommend further study to confirm the value of using OPA to detect and assess the severity of CAS and to define its use in stroke prevention.”

These results are beneficial in understanding patient progress, as more and more people report strokes. Every year, around 795,000 Americans report new or recurrent strokes; of that number, over 137,000 of the people die as a result of the stroke. Furthermore, those who have severe CAS have a higher risk of suffering a stroke. However, there is currently no knowledge on the symptoms of CAS or a test that can detect the disease. As a result, it is difficult for physicians to anticipate CAS before it is diagnosed.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force also indicated during a research review that, if there was an effective screening test for CAS, then the number of strokes and fatalities due to strokes could be decreased. The review detailed that tests should be able to track significant CAS, which is 60 percent to 99 percent of blockage in carotid arteries. At this time, high-tech tests, like magnetic angiography and color duplex ultrasound, are available but they are expensive and not commonly used. These tests are used to help identify CAS in patients who have already shown symptoms of stroke.

The researchers believe that, apart from CAS, few diseases can have low OPA scores. During an eye exam, an ophthalmologist could determine if other diseases were significant or not significant for the patient. As well, it would be useful to perform the OPA test during a regular eye exam in the future. Ophthalmologists already use the tonometer to diagnose glaucoma.

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com

Losing weight and eating healthier have gone hand-in-hand for some time. Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) recently discovered how to help people in their goals for weight loss; a brain receptor that was found to have abilities to help regulate appetite.

The study, published in the online edition of Cell, could help create new drugs focused on combating obesity.

“We’ve identified a receptor that is intimately involved in regulating food intake,” noted study leader Dr. Domenico Accili, professor of Medicine at CUMC, in a prepared statement. “What is especially encouraging is that this receptor is belongs to a class of receptors that turn out to be good targets for drug development, making it a highly ‘druggable’ target. In fact, several existing medications already seem to interact with this receptor. So, it’s possible that we could have new drugs for obesity sooner rather than later.”

The aim of the project was new obesity therapies and, as such, scientist studied the hypothalamus, which is a small brain structure that can control appetite. Other studies have suggested that neurons express a neuropeptide that acts as a regulatory mechanism or brain modulator called AgRP. Scientists don´t know yet what influences AgRP.

In the project, CUMC researchers tracked the reactions of insulin and leptin to better understand appetite control. They found that insulin and leptin could maintain energy balance. These two hormones also inhibited AgRP.

“Surprisingly, blocking either the insulin or leptin signaling pathway has little effect on appetite,” commented Accili. “We hypothesized that both pathways have to be blocked simultaneously in order to influence feeding behavior.”

The researchers tested their hypothesis by producing a group of mice whose AgRP didn´t have Fox01, a protein that´s necessary for insulin and leptin signaling. Removing Fox01 impacted the appetite of the mice.

“Mice that lack Fox01 ate less and were leaner than normal mice,” explained lead author Dr. Hongxia Ren, an associate research scientist in Medicine, in the statement. “In addition, the Fox01-deficient mice had better glucose balance and leptin and insulin sensitivity – all signs of a healthier metabolism.”

Researchers also wanted to see how they could inhibit the action of Fox01. They ended up using gene-expression profiling and found a gene that is expressed by normal AgRP but not expressed in mice that lack in Fox01 neurons. The gene, discovered to be G-protein coupled receptor 17, provided a cell-surface receptor called Gpr17. The researchers then injected a Gpr17 activator into normal mice to see if the receptor was able to manage appetite control; the appetite in the mice actually increased. On the other hand, when the mice were given a Gpr17 inhibitor, the appetite decreased.

There are a few reasons why researchers support Gpr17 for anti-obesity medications. For one, Gpr17 is found in humans. As well, it is connected to the G-protein-coupled receptor family and, as such, is highly durable. Lastly, the receptor has many AgRP neurons and not other neurons, which could limit drug side effects.