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Post by vimala on Jun 21, 2008 13:40:49 GMT 5.5
Prostate Cancer may Be Prevented by a Specific Type of Tomato ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A product derived from tomato may be able to prevent prostate cancer, researchers at the University of Missouri have found. The positive effect of tomato products has been suggested in many studies, but, until now, researchers did not know exactly what caused this effect. "It appears that the greatest protective effect from tomatoes comes from rehydrating tomato powder into tomato paste," said Valeri Mossine, research assistant professor of biochemistry in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. "Processing of many edible plants through heating, grinding, mixing or drying dramatically increases their nutritional value and cancer-fighting potential." Mossine and his colleagues found that FruHis, an organic carbohydrate present in dehydrated tomato products, exerts a strong protective effect against prostate cancer.Rats, injected with prostate cancer-causing chemicals, were divided into groups and fed different diets. The group fed a diet of tomato paste plus additional FruHis demonstrated the longest survival rate. Only 10 percent in that group had developed prostate tumours. Sixty percent in the control group had tumors; 30 percent of the group fed tomato powder had tumours; and 25 percent of the group fed tomato paste alone had prostate tumours. "Before this study, researchers attributed the protective effect of tomatoes to ascorbic acid, carotenoids or phenolic compounds. FruHis may represent a novel type of potential dietary antioxidant," Mossine said. "Our ongoing research now focuses on unraveling the mechanisms behind why this has a beneficial effect. This knowledge may lead to other avenues of research and drug development for prostate and other cancers. Results of this study certainly warrant clinical trials," he added. The study will be published in the June issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. ---------- Source-ANI RAS/L
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Post by vimala on Jun 21, 2008 14:03:12 GMT 5.5
Indian Study to Help Clear Doubts on Mobile Phone Hazards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THURSDAY, June 12, (News Locale) - For some time now the usage mobiles phones has been associated to cause a number of dangerous diseases including brain tumor and cancer of salivary gland. However there is no conclusive evidence to prove these claims. The Union Health Ministry has not decided to conduct a study to gauge the effects of mobile phone radiations on human health. The study will include 4,000 participants and will be conducted under the aegis of the Indian Council of Medical Research in association with JNU''s School of Environmental Sciences and obstetrics & gynecology, neurology and biochemistry departments of AIIMS. Mobile phone radiations have been linked to various disorders like depression and sleeping disorders. The present study will also try to pin point if the radio frequency wave radiations cause any effect on fertility of humans, on menstrual cycle, hormonal changes in women and the male reproductive system. Furthermore the study will also analyze if the radio frequency wave radiations in India are compliant with international standards. A number of international studies have researched the effects of mobile phone radiations on human health. In February this year Finnish scientists revealed that radiation from mobiles phones could alter the protein structure of the human skin, although its affect on the health is not yet known. Similarly Swedish scientists had revealed in the October 2007 issue of the journal Occupational Environmental Medicine that using the mobile phone for just an hour every day for 10 years is enough to increase the risk of developing cancer. A number of independent research efforts carried out in recent years have pin pointed the dangers posed by excessive use of mobile phones, though the World Health Organization concluded that while there might be some health risks posed by radiation from cell phones, serious health effects such as cancer are unlikely. The current Indian initiative is to be welcomed because the mobile phone user base in India is growing rapidly.
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Post by vimala on Jun 21, 2008 14:05:40 GMT 5.5
Intelligent people 'could live 15 years longer'
London (PTI): It seems there may be some truth in the old clich about being old and wise, for a new study has revealed that brainy people are likely to live 15 years longer.
Researchers at Calabria University in Italy have found that longevity is because the brains of intelligent people age more slowly -- thanks to the very gene SSADH which makes them clever actually.
According to them, those with the less "smart" variant of the gene, are unlikely to live beyond 85 but those blessed with a "good" version of the same gene could expect to live up to 100 years.
The Italian team came to the conclusion after analysing a research involving 500 elderly men and women. They asked 115 people within the sample, who fell into the 65 to 85 age group, to take cognitive tests.
Those with the less intelligent variant of the gene performed significantly worse confirming the earlier pattern.
The researchers also noticed that few of those with the "bad" version lived beyond 85 while those with the "good" form were likely to live to 100.
However, lead researcher Prof Giuseppe Passarino said that having two copies of the "bad" form did not automatically mean having a low IQ.
"There's no doubt lifestyle such as reading, having challenging work and enriching your cultural life is far more important than having the bad variant," the British media quoted Prof Passarino as saying.
Added Professor Robert Plomin of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London, who first identified the cognitive effects of SSADH gene nearly four years ago: The findings are "significant".
"The two associations taken together tell a good story. Although the sample size is small, with only 115 taking the test compared with the thousands expected in today's studies, the reported associations with cognitive ability are significant and in line with our previous results," he said.
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