October 19, 2009
Resveratrol acts on the brain to lower insulin
Life Extensions, October 16, 2009
An article published online on October 9, 2009 in the journal Endocrinology reported the discovery of researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center of an antidiabetic effect for resveratrol when infused into the brains of mice. Resveratrol, found in red grapes and other plants, has demonstrated benefits similar to those of calorie restriction in animal research, and has also been shown to have antidiabetic effects when administered orally in an animal model of type 2 diabetes. Because resveratrol activates a protein known as SIRT1 which is expressed in central nervous system neurons that control glucose and insulin homeostasis, the researchers sought to determine whether the compound’s antidiabetic effects are mediated by the brain.
University of Texas assistant professor of internal medicine Roberto Coppari and his associates injected resveratrol or saline directly into the brains of mice fed high fat diets. While insulin levels of animals given saline continued to increase until the end of the study, insulin levels in mice that received resveratrol significantly declined, glucose was normalized and brain sirtuins were activated after 5 weeks.
“Our study shows that the brain plays an important role in mediating resveratrol’s antidiabetic actions, and it does so independent of changes in food intake and body weight,” Dr Coppari stated. “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.”
“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 added.
“Collectively, our results unveiled a previously unrecognized key role for the central nervous system in mediating the antidiabetic actions of resveratrol,” the authors conclude.
http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2009_10.htm#resveratrol-acts-on-the-brain-to-lower-insulin
Botox lawsuit raises issues on injections: Doctor says sales representatives promote reuse of single-use vials
Las Vegas Review-Journal 10-19-09
Oct. 18--Single-use medication vials used on more than one patient.
That practice at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, public health officials have repeatedly said, contributed to the hepatitis C outbreak in the Las Vegas Valley.
Now a federal lawsuit filed in California by Las Vegas physician Ivan Goldsmith argues that sales representatives for Allergan Inc., maker of the popular anti-wrinkle drug Botox, promote multipatient use of its 50-unit or 100-unit single-use vials.
Goldsmith's lawsuit alleges that doctors can only make a profit using Botox if they reuse the single-use vials that the drug comes in.
But the complaint also raises issues that go beyond dollars and cents, ones that the community has been acutely aware of since the hepatitis C outbreak became public in February of last year.
The Botox business model "created an unacceptable and unreasonable risk of serious and debilitating injuries and illnesses, including HIV and Hepatitis B and C," states the lawsuit, filed Sept. 29 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Allergan spokeswoman Kellie Reagan said the product's prescribing label has always been clear: single use only.
She wouldn't comment, however, on how Allergan's sales representatives promote the drug's use.
Goldsmith said in the lawsuit that Allergan misrepresented to him "the true and permissible use of the product."
Most patients need far less Botox than is provided by Allergan in either its 50-unit or 100-unit vials, the lawsuit said.
And, according to the suit, the medication can't be saved for later use on the same patient because, once a vial is opened, it must be thrown away within four hours of first use.
Physicians and medical spa providers of Botox contacted by the Review-Journal said Allergan's sales representatives have consistently said vials of Botox could be used for multiple patients.
"No matter what training seminar or continuing medical education course I went to, the Allergan people always said a vial was for multiuse," said Sandra Bledsoe, who operates Focus Medical Weight Loss & Spa. "Many patients only need 15 or 20 units at a time."
"Allergan seminars have demonstrated multiple patient use of the product for years," said Las Vegas plastic surgeon Dr. Julio Garcia, who said he has attended the company's seminars.
Garcia said doctors felt they could be safe if they used a new syringe and needle for each injection, which, even if against the rules, would result in sterile treatments.
The problem comes when mistakes happen, said Dr. Joseph Niamtu, a Richmond, Va.-based cosmetic facial surgeon long active with the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgeons and the Cosmetic Surgery Foundation.
"Someone inadvertently picks up a contaminated syringe and inoculates the entire vial," he said.
That may sound familiar.
Last year, health officials revealed that authorities investigating a cluster of hepatitis C cases had observed nurses at the Endoscopy Center's Shadow Lane clinic reusing syringes in a manner that contaminated single-use vials of medication.
Nine hepatitis cases were linked to the practice, and more than 50,000 people were urged to get tested for blood-borne diseases.
Medical officials say no cases of hepatitis C have been connected to Botox injections.
Still, Dr. Ihsan Azzam, state epidemiologist for the Nevada State Health Division, said concerns about blood-borne diseases in relation to the administration of Botox can't be dismissed.
He said discussions with some of the state's medical providers have made it clear to him that multipatient use of single-use Botox vials continues in Nevada.
The Review-Journal also contacted providers who say the practice is ongoing.
"I think we need to include use of Botox as a risk factor when we talk about hepatitis," Azzam said.
He noted that after he sent a bulletin to physicians and other medical providers about injection safety in the wake of the hepatitis C crisis in Las Vegas, some providers who administered Botox in their practices were not supportive.
In his directive, which echoes the position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he wrote: "Do not administer medications from single-dose vials to multiple patients or combine leftover contents for later use."
He said a number of providers called him to say that they wouldn't follow the regulations because they knew how to safely administer Botox to multiple patients from a single-dose vial.
"I was very surprised," Azzam said Thursday, adding he hopes state inspectors will catch those who refuse to abide by medical regulations. "Some seemed to be daring me to come after them."
If caught, physicians' licenses would be at risk.
Azzam said Botox providers told him it would not be possible to make a profit if the injection practices he supported were followed.
"I followed the rules," Goldsmith said last week. "And it killed me financially."
Goldsmith is asking the court that his lawsuit be certified as a class action, arguing that more than 100 doctors who invested in the product are affected nationwide, with their economic losses exceeding more than $5 million.
In his lawsuit, Goldsmith said a 100-unit vial of Botox could cost him $1,000, but a patient treatment might only be $500. Because it is a single-use drug, the rest would then have to be thrown away.
"You were losing money that way, not making it," Goldsmith said. "The patient didn't want to eat the cost."
Goldsmith has had a run-in with the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners, which last year subpoenaed some of his patient records.
The board said it had received information that Goldsmith illegally dispensed compounded medications, dispensed medications without having a pharmacist on site, allowed clerks to dispense medications, and used human growth hormone on patients without meeting Food and Drug Administration criteria.
Goldsmith has denied the allegations and, more than a year after the board's subpoena, no action has been taken.
Garcia said he is following the rules regarding Botox injections, but knows that many in the medical community aren't doing so.
Last year he wrote a letter to the state medical board saying patient safety could be compromised because spa personnel continue to inject Botox "with the doctor not present."
That issue has been in the news lately, the result of recent attempts by the medical board to keep medical assistants from injecting Botox. That effort failed.
"The possibilities of infection, given what is going on when it comes to injecting Botox by whomever, are terrifying," Garcia said.
"We're not talking about 40,000 or 50,000 people. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of injections" in Southern Nevada.
Tracy Jones, a Las Vegas saleswoman, said while she has been a frequent user of Botox, she generally doesn't know if she is the only one receiving Botox from a vial.
"It's not something people ask," she said.
Most medical providers are well aware that Botox, like any injectable medication, can be contaminated when drawn up into a syringe.
To prevent contamination in his Botox injections, Niamtu, the Virginia facial surgeon, said he and his staff every day will draw up five sterile 20-unit syringes of Botox from a 100-unit vial.
Though he said that may not be in accordance with CDC guidelines that say single-use vials cannot be used for more than one patient, Niamtu said he must walk a tightrope between the "practical and the optimal."
He said "something will have to be done," if medical officials in other states become as aggressive in enforcing regulations as he believes they are in Nevada.
"Doctors can't throw away that much medication, and patients aren't going to pay for the extra," Niamtu said. "Allergan will have to step up to the plate and make different quantities of the drug. It may cost them a little more."
A new company called Dysport is manufacturing a similar product, and the competition could force Allergan to provide smaller dosage vials to physicians who want them, he said.
"You can't have doctors worrying about breaking the law or guidelines or whatever," Niamtu said.
The Review-Journal had little trouble finding medical providers who said they and their companies knowingly broke state and federal regulations.
Medical assistants at two different spas said their owners only stopped multipatient use of single-use vials of Botox "until things quieted down" after the hepatitis outbreak was announced.
"We just couldn't handle it financially," said one medical assistant who asked to remain anonymous. "We would have gone out of business."
One business that seems to be going well in Las Vegas is known for throwing Botox parties. That's an ongoing phenomenon across the country where friends get together and drink champagne while their wrinkles are needled away.
A phone call to inquire about the cost of a Botox party was greeted with this information: "It will be cheaper if all the partiers use the same vial."
Contact reporter Paul Harasim at pharasim@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2908.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8910&Section=Disease
Green tea may cut the risk of dying from pneumonia
Last Updated: 2009-10-16 9:00:24 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drinking green tea continues to show health benefits, particularly among women, hints a new study from Japan.
Drinking five or more cups a day cut the risk by "47 percent in Japanese women," but not Japanese men, Ikue Watanabe, from Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan noted in an email to Reuters Health.
Pneumonia risk seems to be reduced even by drinking small amounts of green tea.
Drinking as little as one cup or less of green tea per day was associated with 41 percent less risk of dying from pneumonia among Japanese women, the investigators found.
The findings, they say, "support the possibility" that green tea contains compounds capable of destroying or inhibiting the growth of viruses and microorganisms.
Watanabe and colleagues assessed how drinking green tea affected the risk of dying from pneumonia among 19,079 men and 21,493 women receiving National Health Insurance in Japan. The study population ranged from 40 to 79 years old and had no reported history of cancer, heart attack, stroke at the start of the study.
Through more than 12 years of follow up in about 85 percent of the study group (6,033 were lost to follow-up), 406 study participants died from pneumonia, the investigators report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
They found benefits from drinking green tea in women, but not in men, after allowing for age, physical function, and smoking status, plus numerous other health and dietary factors potentially associated with the risk for pneumonia.
Watanabe speculates that "green tea may have an effect on pneumonia in women in other countries as well." However, further study is needed to determine this, as well as exactly what green tea compounds lessen pneumonia risk among women.
SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September, 2009
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/10/16/eline/links/20091016elin005.html
Swine flu vaccines delayed, US CDC says
Last Updated: 2009-10-16 13:17:25 -0400 (Reuters Health)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Delivery of some swine flu vaccines has been delayed because companies cannot make as much as they had hoped, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.
The CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat said while 40 million doses had been anticipated for the end of October, only about 28 to 30 million doses would be available.
"Yields for vaccine are lower than would be hoped," Schuchat said in a telephone briefing.
She also said deaths from H1N1 swine flu were above the epidemic threshold in some U.S. cities and states. H1N1 flu activity was widespread in 41 states, she said.
"It is unprecedented for this time of year to have the whole country having such high levels of activity," Schuchat said.
She also said more children had died in the space of a few weeks than usually die in an entire influenza season. "There are now a total of 86 children under 18 who have died from the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus," Schuchat said.
As of Wednesday 11.4 million doses of H1N1 vaccine were available and 8 million had been ordered by states for distribution.
The U.S. government has ordered vaccine from five companies.
Schuchat said 15 percent to 20 percent of patients with H1N1 who needed to be hospitalized were requiring intensive care.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/10/16/eline/links/20091016elin012.html
Ear acupuncture curbs back pain in pregnant women
Last Updated: 2009-10-16 13:58:55 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A special acupuncture technique can help ease lower back and pelvic pain in pregnant women, new research shows.
In a study, women who had pressure needles held in place with tape at three acupuncture points in their ears for one week, were more likely to experience significant reductions in lower back and pelvic pain than those who had the needles placed at three "sham" points or women in a control group who didn't get real or fake acupuncture.
Pregnant women often suffer from pain in the lower back and pelvis -- and this can set the stage for chronic pain later on, Dr. Shu-Ming Wang of the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut and colleagues note in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Ear acupuncture might offer a drug-free way to help ease pain in these women, Wang and colleagues say.
They randomly assigned 159 women in the 25th to 38th week of pregnancy to receive real acupuncture, acupuncture delivered to points that would theoretically not affect pain in the pelvic or lower back area, and a control group.
Every woman was also instructed to use self-care as needed, including resting, taking acetaminophen, and applying warm and cold compresses.
All of the 152 women who completed the two-week study reported some degree of pain reduction and improvement in their ability to function.
A 30 percent or greater reduction in pain was reported by 81 percent of women in the acupuncture group, 59 percent of women in the sham acupuncture group and 47 percent of women in the control group. The difference between the sham and control groups wasn't statistically significant.
Thirty-seven percent of women in the acupuncture group were pain-free after a week of acupuncture, compared to 22 percent in the sham group and 9 percent of the control group. Improvements in function were significantly greater among women who had real acupuncture compared to those who got the fake version or received no treatment.
But the pain relief didn't persist for some; a week after the end of acupuncture treatment, 68 percent of those who received the real thing still had a 30 percent or greater reduction in pain compared to the beginning of treatment, while 32 percent in the sham acupuncture group and 18 percent of the control group sustained this level of pain reduction. There was no significant difference among the groups in the percentage remaining free of pain two weeks into the study.
The only side effect was temporary tenderness in the ear area, reported by one woman in the acupuncture group and three in the sham acupuncture group.
The treatment is inexpensive, the researchers note, at a cost of $17 to $20 for a pack of 100 needles, and it takes about three minutes for the needles to be put in place if an experienced person is doing the job.
In future studies, it would be worthwhile, the researchers say, to explore whether extended continuous ear acupuncture yields a more sustained effect and determine the characteristics of acupuncture responders versus nonresponders.
They call for larger studies to investigate these issues, and to determine whether the treatment has any effect on pregnancy outcome.
SOURCE: American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, September 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/10/16/eline/links/20091016elin023.html
Soy foods may curb hip fracture risk in older women
Last Updated: 2009-10-16 13:01:03 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Postmenopausal women may lessen their chances of fracturing a hip by adding soy-based foods to their diet, a study from Singapore hints.
Women in the study were 21 to 36 percent less likely to fracture a hip when they reported eating a moderate amount of soy, Dr. Woon-Puay Koh, at the National University of Singapore, and colleagues found.
In their study, daily moderate soy intake was at least 2.7 grams of soy protein, 5.8 milligrams of soy isoflavones per 1000 calories, or the equivalent of 49.4 grams of tofu.
This level of soy is consistently "higher than the low levels of consumption in the West," Koh told Reuters Health in an email.
Koh's team assessed dietary soy intake of more than 63,000 Chinese men and women who were 45 to 74 years old when, between 1993 and 1998, they enrolled in the Singapore Chinese Health Study.
Follow-up through the end of 2006 showed 276 men and 692 women had fractured a hip.
The men were about 71 years old and the women about 73 years old, on average, when they suffered the fracture, the investigators report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
As mentioned, moderate soy intake was associated with a reduced risk of hip fracture among women, but not among men.
The current findings are consistent with those of a previous investigation in postmenopausal Chinese women in Shanghai who showed a 30 percent reduced risk for hip fracture among those consuming higher amounts of soy.
Koh and colleagues surmise that the bone-protective effects of soy isoflavones may play a critical role in the bone health of postmenopausal women.
They call for further investigations to confirm and clarify this association.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, October 1, 2009
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/10/16/eline/links/20091016elin024.html
Med diet cuts breast cancer risk in older women, says study
Nutraingredients.com , 19-Oct-2009
Adherence to a Mediterranean diet along with avoidance of Western-type foods may contribute to a reduction in postmenopausal breast cancer risk, claims new French study.
According to findings published in this month’s American Journal of Epidemiology, the incidence of breast cancer may be lowered in postmenopausal women by a diet comprising mostly fruits, vegetables, fish and olive/sunflower oil.
And, says the study, the diet identified as ‘alcohol/Western’ (meat products, fries, appetizers, rice/pasta, potatoes, pulses, pizza/pies, canned fish, eggs, alcoholic beverages, cakes, mayonnaise, and butter/cream) was associated with breast cancer risk.
Objective
The researchers maintain that up to now evidence for associations between breast cancer risk and specific foods or nutrients has been limited, except for alcohol.
Breast cancer incidence varies widely between countries, claims the study, and the researchers add that this suggests the influence of environmental factors:
“The Japanese have traditionally been at low risk of breast cancer but breast cancer incidence in Japan has recently increased concomitantly with major changes in traditional habits, especially diet.
“The increasing incidence of breast cancer in Japan can be attributed at least partly to the adoption of a Western diet, which is notably characterized by higher intakes of meat, dairy products, and saturated fat, and decreased consumption of traditional Japanese foods such as seafood products,” continued the scientists.
Method
The scientists report that research was initiated in 1990 and involved 65,374 women living in France who were born between 1925 and 1950, with participants completing biennial self-administered follow-up questionnaires on health status, medical history, and lifestyle.
Dietary data was collected via a self-administered diet history questionnaire assessing consumption of 208 foods and beverages, states the article.
The scientists said that they considered potential interactions with known risk factors for breast cancer such as age, educational level, geographic area at baseline, body mass index, height, family history of breast cancer, pregnancy and breastfeeding history and current use of vitamin/mineral supplements.
Scores for dietary patterns were obtained by factor analysis, and breast cancer hazard ratios were estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression for the highest quartile of dietary pattern score versus the lowest.
Results
The report states that among the women studied, 2,381 developed postmenopausal invasive breast cancer during a median follow-up period of 9.7 years.
The researchers said that their findings indicate that a Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer only if energy intake remains within recommendations and if ‘unhealthy’ foods are not consumed in large quantities.
However, they stress that it was difficult to determine which components of the Mediterranean pattern explain the inverse association with breast cancer risk.
The risk associated with the 'alcohol/Western' eating pattern was higher in the case of tumours that were estrogen receptor-positive/progesterone receptor-negative, added the researchers.
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology
Title: Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk and Dietary Patterns in the E3N-EPIC Prospective Cohort Study
Published online ahead of print: DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwp257
Authors: V Cottet, M Touvier, A Fournier, M Touillaud, L Lafay, F Clavel-Chapelon, MC Boutron-Ruault
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Med-diet-cuts-breast-cancer-risk-in-older-women-says-study
Chitosan marine compound claimed to remedy obesity
Nutraingredients.com, 19-Oct-2009
A compound derived from the shells of crabs, shrimps and other sea crustaceans could tackle obesity, according to recent research results presented by the Irish government-funded Marine Functional Foods Research Initiative or NutraMara project in Dublin.
A linear polysaccharide composed of D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, chitosan disrupts the body’s natural mechanisms that balance the amount of food we eat against our need for energy, a Marine Institute spokesman told NutraIngredients.com.
It disrupts the uptake of lipids into cell membranes and blocks the body’s hunger response, he said.
Animal trials of chitosan have confirmed that the compound reduces food uptake significantly, said the institute.
Obesity related deaths
Dr Bahar Bojul, University College Dublin, who is researching chitosan said: “Obesity is a major threat to human health and a worldwide problem.” This represents a major discovery and a possible solution for a condition that contributes to some 2,000 obesity-related deaths in Ireland alone each year, he added.
In the United States, 67 per cent of the population could be considered overweight, while 34 per cent, or one-in-three, was considered obese, according to a survey conducted in 2004.
Another survey conducted two years ago in Ireland revealed that 39 per cent of the adult population was considered overweight, with 25 per cent, or one-in-four, being considered obese.
Research into the health benefits of chitosan and other substances derived from marine animals and plants sourced around Ireland’s shores could lead to the country becoming a big player in this multi-billion euro worldwide functional foods industry industry, according to meeting staged at the Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre in Dublin.
Other research projects focus on milk drinks that lower blood pressure, meat products that reduce the risk of heart disease and chocolate that calms you down.
“Our seas are a huge reservoir for bioactive compounds that can be incorporated into food additives which can be harnessed for human health,” said Dr Maria Hayes, scientific project manager of the NutraMara Project.
Biofunctional peptides
Dr Pádraigín Harnedy, is researching seaweed as a source of biofunctional peptides. These are protein molecules that promote health by blocking harmful chemical pathways in the human body, such as the deposition of cholesterol in blood vessels.
“Irish seaweeds have great potential as a source of biofunctional peptides particularly with the small red seaweeds found along our shores,” said Dr Harnedy. “Such compounds have a wide range of positive effects on human health, including killing harmful bacteria, lowering hypertension, assisting our immune systems and preventing thrombosis.”
A range of marine functional foods are marketed already in Japan, said the spokesman. These include Bonito Peptide supplement soup from Nippon Supplement.
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Chitosan-marine-compound-claimed-to-remedy-obesity
Scientists find lack of vitamin K could cause age-related diseases
S. L. Baker, NaturalNews.com October 18, 2009
(NaturalNews) Here's a compelling reason to eat a variety of green, leafy vegetables regularly, including cabbage, cauliflower, Swiss chard and spinach: they could slow down the aging process and prevent a host of serious, life threatening diseases. The veggies' secret? These foods are rich sources of vitamin K. And a new analysis of dietary intakes of this nutrient strongly suggests that adequate amounts of vitamin K may prevent a wide range of age-related conditions such as weak bones, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease and even cancer.
The study, conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists Joyce McCann, PhD, and Senior Scientist, Bruce Ames, PhD, involved reviewing data from hundreds of published articles dating back to the 1970's. Dr. Ames has been on the trail of how vitamins and other micronutrients positively affect health for years. In fact, back in 2006 he proposed his "triage" theory which states diseases associated with aging like cancer, heart disease and dementia -- as well as the rate of the aging process itself -- may be unintended consequences of mechanisms developed during evolution in order to protect humans when there were shortages of vitamin and mineral rich foods.
The new analysis, slated for publication in the October 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, strongly supports this theory and could have huge implications for preventive medicine because Dr. Ames believes even modest vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which are common, could result in age-related illnesses. His theory calls for a new scientifically based and consistent strategy for establishing what vitamin and mineral intakes are truly optimal and for looking for early biomarkers of chronic disease.
"Encouraging support for the triage theory from our vitamin K analysis suggests that experts aiming to set micronutrient intake recommendations for optimal function and scientists seeking mechanistic triggers leading to diseases of aging may find it productive to focus on micronutrient-dependent functions that have escaped evolutionary protection from deficiency," Dr. McCann said in a statement to the media.
Dr. Ames and Dr. McCann have announced plans to conduct a series of scientific literature-based reviews to test the basic ideas behind the triage theory. Their goal is to document how micronutrients may help halt disease. In a press release, a reviewer of the current vitamin K analysis stated it "...provides a unique perspective of consequences of vitamin K insufficiency and may serve as an important future reference, as new vitamin K dependent proteins are identified and new (non-clotting) functions of vitamin K are elucidated. More broadly, an assessment of micronutrient sufficiency from the perspective of triage theory may provide a valuable point of view, as current recommendations for nutrient intakes are reconsidered."
Interesting facts about vitamin K
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin derived from the German word "koagulation", which refers to the fact the vitamin is essential for blood clot coagulation. However, while about half of the 16 known proteins that depend on vitamin K are necessary for blood coagulation, other vitamin K-dependent proteins are involved in a variety of different functions involving the skeletal, arterial, and immune systems.
As NaturalNews has previously reported, scientists have found that adequate vitamin K levels appear to play an important role in keeping inflammation in the body in check (http://www.naturalnews.com/023503_v...) and research is mounting that it can help prevent a loss of bone mass leading to osteoporosis, too (http://www.naturalnews.com/025231_v...).
In addition to food sources, vitamin K is made in the body by bacteria that line healthy gastrointestinal tracts. But people living in both the United States and the United Kingdom have been found to have far less than currently recommended intakes of the vitamin K. Moreover, those recommendations are only based on the amount of the vitamin mecessary for adequate blood coagulation, not for optimal health. The new analysis by Dr. McCann and Dr. Ames supports what many nutrition experts have claimed for years: higher intakes of vitamin K are needed for health than are currently recommended by mainstream medicine.
http://www.naturalnews.com/027271_vitamin_K_disease_aging.html
Natural substance in melons relieves stress and fatigue
S. L. Baker, NaturalNews.com October 17, 2009
(NaturalNews) Is there food that you correlate with stress? A fast food, high calorie meal grabbed at a drive-in restaurant might fill the bill. But the color, smell, juicy sweetness and cool texture of a delicious melon -- whether a cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew or another kind -- conjures up a relaxing scenario. Now scientists have found that a natural substance derived from melons may actually be an antidote to stress.
When most of us say we are experiencing too much stress, we mean we are overloaded with work, personal problems, and life in general. Of course, a certain amount of stress can be stimulating and even exciting. But when we have stressors without a break, a host of symptoms from irritability and an inability to concentrate to a fast heartbeat, headaches and a reduced resistance to infections can develop. So it's not hard to suspect a causal connection between feeling stressed out and showing physical symptoms.
In fact, recent studies have demonstrated a correlation between perceived stress and what scientists call oxidative stress -- a steady state level of oxidative damage in a cell, tissue, or organ caused by the reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS, such as free radicals and peroxides, represent a class of molecules derived from the metabolism of oxygen that has been linked to several diseases, including metastatic breast cancer.
Antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes are known to help break down potentially harmful oxygen molecules in cells, potentially preventing ROS damage to tissues. So scientist Marie-Anne Milesi and her colleagues at Isoclin, a clinical research organization located in Poitiers, France, decided to test an ingredient derived from a melon which is rich in SOD enzymes to see if augmenting the body's ability to deal with ROS would help people resist burnout from high stress levels.
For their double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, just published in BioMed Central's open access Nutrition Journal, the scientists recruited seventy healthy volunteers between the ages of 30 and 55 years who complained of experiencing daily stress and fatigue. Once a day for four weeks, 35 of the research subjects took a dietary supplement based on a proprietary melon juice concentrate (corresponding to 140 IU of SOD per capsule) and the other 35 were given a placebo. Stress and fatigue were measured using four different psychometric scales known as FARD, PSS-14, SF-12 and the Epworth scale.
There were no adverse side effects found but the group that received the melon juice concentrate capsule had significantly reduced signs of stress and fatigue. They experienced better concentration, less weariness and insomnia and less irritability. In a statement to the press, Milesi noted there was a strong placebo effect in the 35 research subjects who received an inactive capsule filled with starch. However, the group that received the actual melon-derived SOD had far greater improvements in fatigue and feelings of stress, especially after four weeks.
"The placebo effect was only present during the first seven days of supplementation and not beyond. It will be interesting to confirm these effects and better understand the action of antioxidants on stress in further studies with a larger number of volunteers and a longer duration," Milesi said.
In additional research news about stress relief from melons, this summer Japanese scientists from the Institute of Gerontology at Nippon Medical School in Kawasaki reported in the journal Behavioral Brain Research that a SOD supplement derived from melons prevented stress-induced impairment of cognitive function in animal studies. The researchers also found that melon superoxide dismutase extract promoted antioxidantdefenses in the brain and prevented stress caused impairment of spatial memory.
http://www.naturalnews.com/027266_melons_placebo_oxygen.html
Mediterranean Diet Reduces Depression Risk
Sherry Baker, NaturalNews.com October 17, 2009
(NaturalNews) There's yet another reason why eating the Mediterranean way is not only delicious but extraordinarily healthy. In addition to helping prevent and even treat type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome (http://www.naturalnews.com/025098_n... ), heart disease, dementia (http://www.naturalnews.com/026011_m...) and obesity, the Mediterranean diet, which consists of lots of fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish, also helps keep depression at bay. That's the conclusion of new research just published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
According to background information in the study, the rate of mental disorders over the course of a lifetime is lower in the Mediterranean region than in Northern European countries. That observation suggested to researchers that the way people eat in Mediterranean countries could play a role in better mental health. In fact, earlier research has indicated monounsaturated fatty acids in olive oil, which are used abundantly in the Mediterranean diet, could lower the risk of clinical depression.
Almudena Sanchez-Villegas, B.Pharm., Ph.D., of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Clinic of the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, and colleagues investigated 10,094 healthy Spanish participants who completed an initial questionnaire between 1999 and 2005. The research subjects kept track of what they ate daily by using a food frequency list. The scientists then calculated adherence to the Mediterranean diet based on these nine measurements: a high ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids, moderate intake of alcohol, moderate consumption of dairy products, low intake of meat and a high consumption of legumes, fruit, nuts, cereals, vegetables and fish.
After approximately 4.4 years of follow-up, 480 research subjects were diagnosed with depression, including 156 men and 324 women. However, the people who had followed the Mediterranean diet most closely had a greater than 30 percent reduction in the risk of depression than whose who had the lowest Mediterranean diet scores.
"The specific mechanisms by which a better adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern could help to prevent the occurrence of depression are not well known," the authors wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry research paper. "Components of the diet may improve blood vessel function, fight inflammation, reduce risk for heart disease and repair oxygen-related cell damage, all of which may decrease the chances of developing depression."
"However, the role of the overall dietary pattern may be more important than the effect of single components. It is plausible that the synergistic combination of a sufficient provision of omega-three fatty acids together with other natural unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants from olive oiland nuts, flavonoids and other phytochemicals from fruit and other plant foods and large amounts of natural folates and other B vitamins in the overall Mediterranean dietary pattern may exert a fair degree of protection against depression," the scientists concluded.
Although antidepressant drugs such as Prozac and Paxil are now the most commonly prescribed medications in the U.S.(http://www.naturalnews.com/027054_d...), there are numerous natural alternatives to these risky, mind altering chemicals. As NaturalNews has reported previously, a host of natural strategies are known to help fight depression including yoga (http://www.naturalnews.com/023599_y...), eating sunflower seeds (http://www.naturalnews.com/026165_s...) and getting adequate amounts of vitamin D (http://www.naturalnews.com/022849.html).
http://www.naturalnews.com/027265_depression_mediterranean_diet_health.html
Choosing Your Words Carefully may Improve Your Health and Wellbeing
Sheryl Walters, NaturalNews.com October 17, 2009
(NaturalNews) Your words create your reality. The kind of words we use to describe our situations and our lives are the way that we perceive our lives to be. Our perception then is the reality. When you say things like something is a disaster or you are suffering from a disease, you are painting a clear picture for yourself and anyone listening that this is just the way it is. Can we, then, change our situations, or at the very least change our perception of a situation, by changing the way we speak about it? That is what positive affirmations are for. Research has shown that a positive outlook and attitude can improve a patient/s chances at overcoming serious medical conditions like cancer and chronic pain. It follows then that a positive mindset can help you overcome your negative beliefs about yourself and your life as well.
Saying that someone is a "pain in the neck" is a good example of using somehow meaningful language. Could saying that mean that literal pain in your neck could manifest? Is someone a "cancer" in your organization or family? By firing them or cutting off communication you could improve the quality of your home or work life, correct?
Choosing your words carefully is something that our mothers taught us as we grew. When you consider the powers of words in terms of doing what you say and saying what you do, you manifest the reality you live by your words and actions. Remember this as you make your way through each day and try to practice positive affirmations that will enrich your life and your soul.
Stop and think about the types of negative words you use to describe yourself on a daily basis. Do you say you "doubt you can", "wish I could", "don't like that", or are you just afraid? These are the words you can consciously work to replace in your vocabulary to improve your overall state of wellbeing and success. Take the time to consciously reprogram your thoughts and words to eliminate the negative and replace it with the positive.
Positive words and affirmations are the types of thoughts you want to have floating through your mind and coming out of your mouth. In this way you reprogram your thought patterns and with it your whole life. We fill our lives with the images that we focus on. Focus on love and love will come to you; focus on the bad and you will feel bad, look bad, and your relationships will be bad. This is a simple fact of reality. To master it all you have to do is literally change your mind.
Start each day with positive affirmations such as "today I will be the best and most positive I can be". Then as you go about your day, you can actually do it. Go out of your way to find the positive in every thought and situation even if you have to say that it was an "opportunity to learn" or a "challenge to be accomplished". Live happily and speak about it in a positive way. What will at first seem like a tough prospect will soon be second nature to you. No more doom and gloom; only a positive outlook and a positive, happy, well balanced life will be ahead for you.
http://www.naturalnews.com/027262_health_cancer_disease.html
Promising novel treatment for human cancer -- Chrysanthemum indicum extract
World Journal of Gastroenterology, 16-Oct-2009
A series of studies have demonstrated that Chrysanthemum indicum possesses antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, immunomodulatory, and neuroprotective effects. Recently, much attention has been devoted to the anticancer activity of Chrysanthemum indicum, especially in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its anticancer mechanism of action is still not clear and needs further investigation.
A research article to be published on September 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team, led by Prof. Zong-fang Li from the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, investigated the effects ofChrysanthemum indicum extract (CIE) on inhibition of proliferation and on apoptosis, and the underlying mechanisms, in a human HCC MHCC97H cell line.
They examined viable rat hepatocytes and human endothelial ECV304 cells by trypan blue exclusion and MTT assay, respectively, as normal controls. The proliferation of MHCC97H cells was determined by MTT assay. The cellular morphology of MHCC97H cells was observed by phase contrast microscopy. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze cell apoptosis with annexin V/propidium iodide (PI), mitochondrial membrane potential with rhodamine 123 and cell cycle with PI in MHCC97H cells. Apoptotic proteins such as cytochrome C, caspase-9, caspase-3 and cell cycle proteins, including P21 and CDK4, were measured by Western blotting.
The results showed CIE inhibited proliferation of MHCC97H cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner without cytotoxicity in rat hepatocytes and human endothelial cells. CIE induced apoptosis of MHCC97H cells in a concentration-dependent manner, as determined by flow cytometry. The apoptosis was accompanied by a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome C and activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3. CIE arrested the cell cycle in the S phase by increasing P21 and decreasing CDK4 protein expression.
The researchers drew a conclusion that CIE exerted a significant apoptotic effect through a mitochondrial pathway and arrested the cell cycle by regulation of cell cycle-related proteins in MHCC97H cells without an effect on normal cells. The cancer-specific selectivity shown in their study suggests that the plant extract could be a promising novel treatment for human cancer.
Reference: Li ZF, Wang ZD, Ji YY, Zhang S, Huang C, Li J, Xia XM. Induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in human HCC MHCC97H cells withChrysanthemum indicum extract. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(36): 4538-4546
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/wjog-pn101609.php
The Wisdom of Symptoms: Respect the Intelligence of the Body to Heal
Dana Ullman, NaturalNews.com October 17, 2009
(NaturalNews) Have you ever wondered what is that stuff coming out of your nose when you have a common cold? Such nasal discharges are composed of dead viruses that were killed by the body`s defenses, dead white blood cells that were killed as a result of the infection, and of a liquid substance known as mucus which the body deploys as a vehicle to remove this dead matter.
If you take a conventional over-the-counter drug for the common cold, these drugs "work" by reducing the body`s ability to create mucus, which simply inhibits the body`s own efforts to eliminate the dead viruses from the body. Although these conventional drugs may stop the nasal discharge temporarily, the side effects of these drugs are that they lead to bronchial congestion, headache, and fatigue, which can be more problematic and discomforting symptoms than the original simple nasal discharge.
The lesson here is that just because a drug is effective in getting rid of a symptom does not necessarily mean that this treatment is truly curative (or even helpful).
WISDOM OF THE BODY
The basic assumption behind the broad field of natural medicine is that the human body has an inherent wisdom within it that strives to defend itself and to survive. Symptoms of illness are not simply something "wrong" with the person, but instead, symptoms are actually responses and efforts of the organism to defend and heal itself against infection and/or stress. Hans Selye, MD, PhD, the father of stress theory, once asserted, "Disease is not mere surrender to attack but also the fight for health; unless there is a fight, there is no disease."
Our human body has survived these thousands of years because of its incredible adaptive capabilities, and one of the ways that it adapts is through the creation of symptoms. Whether it be through fever and inflammation, cough and expectoration, nausea and vomiting, fainting and comatose states, and even the variety of emotional and mental states, each symptom represents the best efforts of the bodymind in its effort to fight infection and/or adapt to physical and psychological stresses.
Although symptoms may be the best effort of the organism to defend itself at that time, it is not usually effective to simply let the body try to heal itself. Most often, some treatment must be provided to help nurture, nourish, and augment the body`s own wisdom. The challenge to physicians, healers, and patients is to determine when to help aid this inner wisdom of the body and when to intervene to make certain that the body does not harm itself.
The word "symptom" comes from a Greek root and refers to "something that falls together with something else." Symptoms are a sign or signal of something else, and treating them doesn`t necessarily change that "something else." Ultimately, a symptom is a signal, a warning light that something is off-balance. It is akin to an oil warning light in your car. Although this light will go off if you unscrew the lamp, this simple action doesn`t solve the more complex problem that led to the light turning on in the first place.
In 1942 Walter B. Cannon, a medical doctor, wrote a seminal book entitled The Wisdom of the Body. This book, which is a classic in medicine, detailed the impressive and sophisticated efforts that the body deploys to defend and heal itself.
Many leading scientists, including the late Dr. Hans Selye, have taken Cannon`s work further, recognizing that symptoms are actually efforts of the organism to deal with stress or infection. And even more recently, Randolph Nesse, MD, and George Williams, PhD, authored Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine (New York: Times, 1995) in which they link the important role that symptoms and disease have to theevolution of the human body. Nesse and Williams show how our symptoms and seemingly normal body functions work as important defenses:
- Fever is an important, even vital, defense against infection.
- Tears help wash and cleanse the eyes.
- The respiratory system is bathed in antibody and enzyme-rich secretions that are propelled up and down the throat and bronchial tree so that invaders are killed.
- The ears secrete an antibacterial wax which helps to fight infection.
- The frequent washing of the mouth with saliva kills some pathogens and dislodges others so that the stomach`s acid and enzymes can destroy them.
Without having to tell the bodymind what to do, our innate survival instinct has developed sophisticated responses to both old and new infections and stresses.
Concepts in new physics offer further support for the notion that living and non-living systems have inherent self-regulating, self-organizing, and self-healing capacities. This ongoing effort to maintain homeostasis (balance) and to develop higher and higher levels of order and stability have been described in detail by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ilya Prigogine in Order Out of Chaos, Fritjof Capra in The Turning Point, and Erich Jantsch inThe Self-Organizing Universe. In systems thinking, "perturbations" are understood as efforts of a system to re-establish balance and to increase its complexity so that there is greater dynamic homeostasis.
WHY HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINES MAKE SENSE
The implications of recognizing that symptoms are efforts of the body to defend itself are significant. Because some conventional drugs work by suppressing symptoms, these drugs tend to provide helpful temporarily relief but tend to lead to other new and more serious problems by inhibiting the body`s defense and immune processes. Such drugs should be avoided except in dire situations or in extreme pain or discomfort when safer treatments are not working fast or adequately enough.
Because symptoms are adaptations of the body in its efforts to defend and heal itself, it makes sense to use treatments that mimic this wisdom of the body. Ultimately, homeopathic medicine is a well-known therapeutic modality that honors this wisdom of the body. Homeopathy is a type of "medical biomimicry" that uses various plant, mineral, and animal substances based upon their ability to cause in overdose the similar symptoms that the sick person is experiencing.
It may be no coincidence that two of the very few conventional medical treatments that augment the body`s own immune system are immunizations and allergy treatments, and these drug treatment modalities coincidentally derive from the homeopathic principle of similar (treating "like with like").
By using a medicine that causes similar symptoms as those of the sick person, the medicine is akin to being a "medical aikido" (the martial art that seeks to match and mimic the force of the attacker against the attacker).
It is not surprising that so many Eastern spiritual teachers have been trained in homeopathy or have simply become advocates for it. Swami Satchidananda and Swami Rama were formally trained in homeopathy, while Sri Aurobindo, Meher Baba, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Yogai Bhajan, Swami Muktananda, and Sri Chinmoy have been known to seek homeopathic care or advocate for it. The fact that many of these spiritual teachers also believe that life problems are not really "problems" but are opportunities for learning is part and parcel of the idea that symptoms are defenses in the body`s efforts to learn how to adapt to the world around us.
The Latin words, vis medicatrix naturae, make reference to "the healing power of nature," and these words and concepts form the basis for naturopathic medicine. Despite maintaining a healthy respect for the healing power of nature, neither naturopaths nor homeopaths think that it is effective to just let the body heal itself. Usually, it is necessary to give the body specific tools/treatments that help in this healing process. Homeopathy and other natural medicines that nourish and nurture the body`s own wisdom are good first steps to initiate a true healing beyond just symptomatic relief.
Consider that the most famous words from Hippocrates were "First, do no harm." It seems that Hippocrates was instructing us all to first try safer methods before resorting to the big guns of more dangerous conventional medical methodologies.
http://www.naturalnews.com/027269_medicine_symptoms_homeopathic.html
Climate Change Threatens Rice Production
ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2009) — Once-in-a-lifetime floods in the Philippines, India’s delayed monsoon, and extensive drought in Australia are taking their toll on this year’s rice crops, demonstrating the vulnerability of rice to extreme weather.
Rice Today’s October-December 2009 edition focuses on climate change and its potential impact on rice. It reveals that it is difficult to prove climate change is responsible for current weather events.
However, by using advanced modeling techniques, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has mapped rice-growing regions in the Philippines that are most likely to experience the negative effects of climate change, showing the extent to which climate change threatens rice production.
Solutions to help farmers adapt are nevertheless available. Cyclone Nargis wreaked havoc on the rice crops and communities of Myanmar in 2008. Since then, IRRI has sent submergence-tolerant and salt-tolerant rice varieties for testing there as more resilient options for farmers.
Massive rat infestations in Myanmar followed cyclone Nargis. Horrific rat infestations also occurred recently in Laos and Bangladesh, where the rodents ate up to 100% of rice crops, invaded house stores of food, bit sleeping people, and likely propagated disease. IRRI is hosting an international conference on rodents in rice to help find solutions.
IRRI takes on the future challenges of adapting rice to climate change backed by its strong history of rice science.
In this issue we pay tribute to science giant Norman Borlaug. He greatly contributed to combating poverty by helping develop high-yielding crop varieties – part of the foundation upon which we can build to tackle the next generation of rice-production issues farmers face.
This issue also kicks off IRRI’s 50th anniversary celebrations, starting with the 6th International Rice Genetics Symposium in the Philippines. The symposium will attract today’s rice scientists from around the world as it will serve as an avenue for exchanging information regarding the latest rice genetics research.
In California, USA, rice growers are directly funding their own research to develop rice varieties suited to their conditions. Japonica rice production there is trying to meet the global shortfall aggravated by drought in Australia. In sub-Saharan Africa, rice growers are being guided by research to help them adopt suitable mechanization techniques to improve their production.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016094049.htm
Could The Hot Stuff In Chili Peppers Ease Your Tingling Nerve Pain?
ScienceDaily (Oct. 18, 2009) — Millions of people suffer peripheral pain and other troubling sensations accompanying diseases as varied as diabetes, AIDS, shingles and arthritis. Cancer patients also often suffer these so-called peripheral neuropathies because of their therapies.
Peripheral neuropathies include disorders of a nerve or nerves outside the brain and spinal cord; they can precipitate tingling, numbness, weakness, burning pain and other unwelcome sensations.
For afflicted patients, a new review suggests, although not strongly, that four of 10 people could experience some pain relief from topical capsaicin cream. Capsaicin is the active component of chili peppers.
Oxford University researchers Sheena Derry and Andrew Moore led the review, which compromised nine studies involving 1,600 adult participants.
The reviewers said it might be best to consider capsaicin cream as an extra pain-relief measure or a later, if not last, resort when treatment is inadequate, especially since there have been studies on oral medicines for neuropathic pain that provide clear evidence of their effectiveness and side effects.
One drawback with capsaicin is that commonly patients experience local skin irritation —burning, stinging or redness — at the application site. These side effects generally prove mild and transient but do lead some patients to discontinue capsaicin.
Capsaicin preparations available in the United States include Zostrix, Capzasin-P and RT Capsin.
The new review appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews like this one draw evidence based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a topic.
The researchers were following up on a related 2004 review about capsaicin treatment for neuropathic pain, which implied that capsaicin might serve as a useful addition to or as a single therapy for certain patients who did not respond well to, or could not tolerate, other treatments. Since 2004, new developments in capsaicin formulations, notably the development of a high-dose (8 percent) patch, added timeliness to the new research review.
Review studies compared topical capsaicin to either placebo or to another active treatment for pain. The studies involved either mild creams which patients can apply by themselves or a newer form, the high-dosage capsaicin patch, which a health care provider administers after applying a local anesthetic to the target area, to minimize the resulting stinging and burning.
In seven studies, 449 participants used capsaicin 0.075 percent in a cream base applied three to four times daily to painful sites for up to 12 weeks. A control group of 325 participants used placebo cream. Of participants who received the active cream, 41 percent experienced “some degree of pain relief, compared to about 26 percent with placebo,” the two authors wrote in an e-mail message. The amount of pain relief varied among studies, from substantial (pain half gone or better) to undefined “improvement.”
In two studies, patients used a single daily dose of high-dose capsaicin cream applied via a patch left in place for 30 to 90 minutes. Thirty-nine percent of the 431 participants who received the capsaicin patch felt that it relieved their pain by at least one-third, compared with about 30 percent of the 278 participants with placebo patches, according to reviewers.
True double blinding represented a significant problem with the included studies, because capsaicin stings and burns while no placebo does. All the included studies recognized this potential problem and attempted to address it via methods like including other stinging ingredients in the placebos.
Scott Zashin, a clinical associate professor of medicine at the Southwestern Medical School at the University of Texas, said that generally he does not use capsaicin in his own practice: “One lack in this study is a failure to compare capsaicin creams to common counterirritants, such as Ben Gay or Icy Hot. The counterirritants create a warm or cool feeling to distract from the pain and they can be used on an as-needed basis, while capsaicin must be used regularly.”
Zashin said the review did not address “the fact that there are little data looking at the benefit-to-risk ratio of the high dose capsaicin. In addition, patients receiving the high-dose formulation required pretreatment with a local anesthetic preparation. It is unclear if this product is any better than other over-the-counter pain gels and may be more irritating with side effects such as burning.”
The current review agreed broadly with the 2004 study. For patients suffering pain daily and for their caregivers, the findings mean that the capsaicin treatments can provide some additional relief to patients who have failed to respond well or have proven intolerant of other treatments. For those patients, wrote the authors, “Even a small degree of pain relief may be considered worthwhile.”
Derry et al. Topical capsaicin for chronic neuropathic pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Reviews, Issue 4, 2009; DOI:10.1002/14651858.CD007393
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016162941.htm
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