prostate cancer Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Cancer Alert: Insidious Chemical Linked to Increased Prostate Cancer Risk

The AHA! Team — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 06:11:33 +0000

Patrick Tims via NaturalHealth365 – Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. More than 299,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2024 alone. A new study published in Nutrients reveals environmental endocrine disruptors, including BPA (Bisphenol A) chemicals, are tied to a heightened risk of prostate cancer. Elevated BPA levels have a causal relationship with a higher incidence of prostate cancer The study found that higher exposure to BPA chemicals in men was associated with an increased risk of developing prostate cancer. Researchers utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) collected between 2003 and 2012 and analyzed several factors, including BPA levels, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration, medical history, and sociodemographic information. Sociodemographic data considered in the study included: Body mass index (BMI) Poverty income ratio (PIR) Race and ethnicity Smoking status Cholesterol levels Statistical analysis revealed a positive correlation between BPA exposure and prostate cancer risk. This is likely due to BPA’s interaction with estrogen receptor-α, a hormone expressed in the prostate gland, which may play a role in the development of prostate cancer. Defining prostate cancer risk through quantification According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a PSA level of 4 ng/mL is considered a threshold for prostate cancer risk. Levels below 4 ng/mL are associated with low cancer risk, while readings above 4 ng/mL indicate a higher risk. From the nearly 54,000 participants in NHANES, 2,738 men met the study’s inclusion criteria. The analysis identified a correlation between PSA and BPA levels, showing that for each unit increase in BPA concentration, there was a 2.760 ng/mL rise in PSA. Further data showed that men classified as high-risk for prostate cancer had a 42.5% to 72% increased likelihood of developing the disease with each additional unit of BPA concentration. A single unit increase in urinary BPA levels corresponded to a 2.760 ng/mL spike in PSA, reinforcing the connection between BPA exposure and elevated PSA levels, which may lead to the development of prostate cancer. Additional analysis of a subgroup revealed that individuals aged 75 and older had an even higher risk. Those with hypertension also showed an increased risk of prostate cancer, which escalated alongside rising BPA concentrations. The positive association between BPA and PSA levels has a key cutoff point Research has identified a significant inflection point in the relationship between BPA concentration and PSA levels at 4.46 ng/mL. The positive correlation between BPA exposure and PSA levels is notably stronger at this specific threshold, particularly in older American males. This cutoff point marks a critical value where the risk of elevated PSA, and potentially prostate cancer, becomes more pronounced with increasing BPA levels. This finding is important because previous studies may have overlooked such specific benchmarks. Medical professionals will likely adopt the 4.46 ng/mL cutoff as a valuable reference for prostate cancer screenings. This could improve early detection, especially as BPA exposure becomes a recognized factor in prostate cancer risk. Solutions to reduce your BPA exposure BPA (Bisphenol A) is widely present in many everyday products, making it impossible to avoid them completely. However, there are effective ways to significantly reduce your exposure to this harmful chemical, particularly for men concerned about the link between BPA and prostate health. 1. Minimize plastic use Reduce or eliminate your use of plastic products, especially those that come into contact with food. BPA is commonly found in plastic containers, water bottles, and packaging materials. Opt for BPA-free or non-plastic alternatives such as glass, stainless steel, or ceramic. 2. Transfer food to non-plastic containers After shopping, transfer foods from plastic or canned packaging into non-plastic containers. Cans often have BPA in their lining, so moving food to safer storage options, like glass containers, reduces potential BPA leaching. 3. Avoid heating food in plastic Never microwave or heat up a food in plastic containers, as heat can cause BPA to leach into the food. Instead, use alternative containers like glass or ceramic. Plus, as a ‘side note,’ don’t use a microwave – which damages the quality of your food. 4. Limit canned foods BPA is often used in the lining of canned foods, so try to reduce the consumption of canned goods. Choose fresh or frozen foods whenever possible, and look for brands with BPA-free packaging. 5. Use BPA-free water bottles and tableware Replace plastic water bottles with BPA-free versions, or use stainless steel or glass bottles. Similarly, switch to BPA-free plates and utensils to further limit exposure. 6. Say no to sales receipts Many thermal paper receipts contain BPA, which can be absorbed through the skin. If possible, decline printed receipts or use digital receipts as an alternative. 7. Be mindful of other sources BPA is also found in protective eyewear, dental sealants, and personal care products. Be conscious of the materials you come into contact with and seek BPA-free alternatives where applicable. By following these steps, you can significantly reduce your exposure to BPA and minimize the health risks associated with these endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Sources for this article include: MDPI.com News-medical.net Zerocancer.org To read the original article click here.

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Study Solves Testosterone’s Paradoxical Effects in Prostate Cancer

The AHA! Team — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 08:33:27 +0000

Duke Health – A treatment paradox has recently come to light in prostate cancer: Blocking testosterone production halts tumor growth in early disease, while elevating the hormone can delay disease progression in patients whose disease has advanced. The inability to understand how different levels of the same hormone can drive different effects in prostate tumors has been an impediment to the development of new therapeutics that exploit this biology. Now, a Duke Cancer Institute-led study, performed in the laboratory of Donald McDonnell, Ph.D. and appearing this week in Nature Communications, provides the needed answers to this puzzle. The researchers found that prostate cancer cells are hardwired with a system that allows them to proliferate when the levels of testosterone are very low. But when hormone levels are elevated to resemble those present in the normal prostate, the cancer cells differentiate. “For decades, the goal of endocrine therapy in prostate cancer has been to achieve absolute inhibition of androgen receptor function, the protein that senses testosterone levels,” said lead investigator Rachid Safi, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, at Duke University School of Medicine. “It’s been a highly effective strategy, leading to substantial improvements in overall survival,” he said. “Unfortunately, most patients with advanced, metastatic disease who are treated with drugs to inhibit androgen signaling will progress to an aggressive form of the disease for which there are limited therapeutic options.” Using a combination of genetic, biochemical, and chemical approaches, the research team defined the mechanisms that enable prostate cancer cells to recognize and respond differently to varying levels of testosterone, the most common androgenic hormone. It turned out to be rather simple. When androgen levels are low, the androgen receptor is encouraged to “go solo” in the cell. In doing so, it activates the pathways that cause cancer cells to grow and spread. However, as androgens rise, the androgen receptors are forced to “hang out as a couple,” creating a form of the receptor that halts tumor growth. “Nature has designed a system where low doses of hormones stimulate cancer cell proliferation and high doses cause differentiation and suppress growth, enabling the same hormone to perform diverse functions,” McDonnell said. In recent years, clinicians have begun treating patients with late-stage, therapy resistant prostate cancers using a monthly, high-dose injection of testosterone in a technique called bi-polar androgen therapy, or BAT. The inability to understand how this intervention works has hindered its widespread adoption as a mainstream therapeutic approach for prostate cancer patients. “Our study describes how BAT and like approaches work and could help physicians select patients who are most likely to respond to this intervention,” McDonnell said. “We have already developed new drugs that exploit this new mechanism and are bringing these to the clinic for evaluation as prostate cancer therapeutics.” In addition to McDonnell and Safi, study authors include Suzanne E. Wardell, Paige Watkinson, Xiaodi Qin, Marissa Lee, Sunghee Park, Taylor Krebs, Emma L. Dolan, Adam Blattler, Toshiya Tsuji, Surendra Nayak, Marwa Khater, Celia Fontanillo, Madeline A. Newlin, Megan L. Kirkland, Yingtian Xie, Henry Long, Emma Fink, Sean W. Fanning, Scott Runyon, Myles Brown, Shuichan Xu, Kouros Owzar, and John D. Norris. The study received funding support from the National Cancer Institute (R01-CA271168, P30CA014236) and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. To read the original article click here.

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Pomegranate Contains Powerful Compounds With Anti-Cancer and Heart-Protective Benefits

AHA Publisher — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 08:00:46 +0000

Lori Alton via NaturalHealth365 – The list of advantages of consuming foods rich in antioxidants continues to grow. But scientists have evidence that one of these antioxidant-rich foods – pomegranate – may reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease and reverse plaque buildup in the arterial walls. This is critical news not only for consumers but for scientists whose previous study findings suggested that antioxidants could only reduce plaque buildup, not actually reverse the damage. Pomegranate Juice Improves Carotid Artery Health and Lowers Blood Pressure Results of an Israeli study show that pomegranate very likely reduces existing plaque buildup in the arteries and doesn’t just slow its development. Israeli scientists studied patients known to exhibit narrowing of their carotid arteries due to atherosclerosis. The research focused on the carotid artery, found in the neck because it is behind approximately 80 percent of the body’s blood flow to the brain. When a portion of these patients was provided with pomegranate juice over a year, the incidence of atherosclerotic lesions in the common carotid artery was reduced in size by 35 percent. This is in stark contrast to patients in the control group, whose atherosclerotic lesions increased by 9 percent. Blood analysis on the group receiving the pomegranate juice showed an increase in antioxidant activity of 130 percent compared with levels before the study’s start. These patients also saw an average drop in systolic blood pressure of 21 percent following one year of the fruit’s juice consumption. Pomegranate also safeguards low-density lipoprotein from harmful oxidation and has been shown to lower blood pressure. The researchers concluded that supplementing with just 2 ounces of pomegranate juice every day reduced blood pressure because the activity of the angiotensin-converting enzyme was reduced. By the way, many medications used to treat high blood pressure work in much the same way, raising the strong possibility that supplementing a diet with pomegranate juice consistently could help patients maintain healthy blood pressure levels. Could This Fruit Help Prevent Cancer? In addition to its remarkable ability to protect your heart, pomegranate also appears to combat several of the more common forms of cancer, including prostate cancer. It works by hampering the progression of cancer cells due to ellagitannins – the very substances that give the fruit its color. Researchers found that pomegranate extract blocked the growth of human prostate cancer cells while also enhancing apoptosis or programmed cancer cell death. The fruit appears to support the expression of a protein known to accelerate cancer cell death while hampering the expression of a different protein that gets in the way of cancer cell death. In addition, in a 2021 clinical study published in The Prostate, researchers found that pomegranate fruit extract contains bioactive compounds capable of reducing oxidative stress. As you can see, pomegranate contains multiple compounds that help prevent cancer and support a healthy heart. So whether you eat the whole fruit, drink pomegranate juice, or take pomegranate extract in supplement form, you have various ways to tap into its many health benefits. Sources for this article include: NIH.gov NIH.gov NIH.gov NIH.gov To read the original article click here.

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Alternative Approach Uses Sound Waves to Treat Prostate

AHA Publisher — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 08:22:35 +0000

University of California San Diego Health via Newswise – Bob Damashek was diagnosed with prostate cancer 15 years ago. Due to the early stage and grade of his condition at the time of diagnosis, he was able to avoid surgery and manage his disease through active surveillance by his medical team for any signs of disease progression. His cancer remained stable until last year. Testing of Damashek’s prostate-specific antigen (PSA) — a protein produced by normal and malignant cells of the prostate gland — began to rise; a biopsy confirmed his cancer had worsened. “I have had several family members and friends impacted by prostate cancer,” said Damashek. “I know how horrible this disease can be and that getting treatment early is paramount.” That’s when the Denver resident in his 70’s came to UC San Diego Health for a treatment approach not available to him at home. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a minimally invasive, outpatient treatment for localized prostate cancer. The technology uses high-frequency sound waves directed at the cancerous tissue through an ultrasound probe inserted into the rectum. The sound waves target and heat the cancerous tissue to temperatures high enough to cause cell death. HIFU provides an alternative to surgery or radiation for eligible patients. UC San Diego Health is the only hospital system in San Diego County to offer HIFU to prostate cancer patients. “As the only academic medical center and National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the region, we can offer patients leading edge treatment not always available at other health care systems,” said Scott Lippman, MD, Scott Lippman, MD, medical oncologist at UC San Diego Health and associate vice chancellor for cancer research and care and professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “Our experts continue to improve approaches for prevention, diagnosing and treating cancers.” Through the advanced HIFU system, high-resolution images are combined with biopsy data and real-time ultrasound imaging to provide urologists with a 3D view of cancerous tissues. Physicians can then draw precise contours around the diseased tissue, ablate only that portion of the affected organ and minimize damage to surrounding structures, which include nerves important for erectile function, blood vessels and muscle tissue. For the patient, the approach minimizes the risk of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. At the end of the procedure, a temporary urinary catheter is placed to limit the risk of urinary retention (inability to pass urine) due to the temporary swelling of the prostatic urethra. The catheter is typically removed three to five days after the procedure. “Using a multi-disciplinary approach, we can now treat eligible prostate cancer patients with a state-of-the-art piece of equipment that results in removing cancerous tumors with extreme accuracy and quicker recovery times because no incisions are required,” said E. David Crawford, MD, urologic oncologist at UC San Diego Health and Damashek’s physician. For Damashek, that meant a trip to Disneyland the day after treatment and feeling fully back to himself a few days later. “The surgery was effective and so easy to tolerate that it boggled my mind,” said Damashek. “As a cancer patient, you are always assessing, worrying and sometimes second-guessing the best treatment for your specific case. I am 100 percent confident I made the right decision.” Prostate cancer is the most common solid organ cancer diagnosed and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in males in the United States. When found early and treated appropriately, the five-year survival rate is nearly 100 percent. Despite the serious nature of some prostate cancers, many cases are non-aggressive. A nuanced, multi-disciplinary and personalized approach is required to give each patient the appropriate treatment at the right time. UC San Diego Health has world-renowned experts in urology, radiation oncology, medical oncology, radiology and pathology to assist patients in making critical treatment decisions. Crawford said not all men require surgery or radiation. Ideal candidates for HIFU are those who have early-stage, low- to intermediate-grade cancer that is confined to the prostate. HIFU is used to treat a single tumor containing part of the prostate, half or in all of the gland. “We have a personalized approach to cancer care at UC San Diego Health, and with HIFU, we have an exciting new way to treat prostate cancer,” said Crawford, professor of urology at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “It is like the male equivalent of the female lumpectomy used for certain breast cancers.” Damashek is back to his cardio workouts and resistance training at the gym and fully enjoying life. “I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. For the first time in a very long time, I am not consumed by cancer. My wife and I are so thankful for the treatment I received by a fantastic team at UC San Diego Health.” To read the original article click here.

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Protein in Prostate Cancer May Inhibit Tumor Growth

AHA Publisher — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 07:00:57 +0000

University of Georgia via EurekAlert – Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men, according to the American Cancer Society. It’s also one of the trickiest cancers to diagnose and treat. But new research from the University of Georgia has identified a protein that appears to prevent the cancer from spreading to and colonizing the bone, providing a new target for future therapeutics. “Unfortunately, prostate cancer that has spread to the bone is very aggressive, often lethal and very difficult to treat,” said Brian Cummings, corresponding author of the study and head of the College of Pharmacy’s pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences department. “Even in cases of successful treatment, the patient’s quality of life is severely lessened due to bone loss.” Prostate cancer that hasn’t spread beyond nearby organs has nearly a 100% survival rate, meaning almost all of these patients will live at least another five or more years after their initial diagnosis and treatment. But for men whose cancer has spread to other organs or the bone, that five-year survival rate plummets to 30%, according to the American Cancer Society. In the U.S., about one in every eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 34,000 men die each year from the disease. The new study, published by Scientific Reports, focused on cancer-associated fibroblasts, which are the most abundant type of cell in tumors and are responsible for cancer growth and spread. The researchers found that knocking out a specific protein, called glypican-1, could prevent tumor cells from spreading into nearby bone. The study supports a previous report from Cummings’ laboratory suggesting that this protein may prevent tumor growth. The researchers found that the protein doesn’t alter the cancer cells themselves. Instead it affects a group of neighboring cells called fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are cells that help make up connective tissues in people and animals. But fibroblasts can also be present in cancerous tumors, where they facilitate cancer growth and spread. To determine the glypican-1 protein’s role in helping cancer spread, the researchers combined human prostate cancer cells and human bone-derived cells to examine how the cancer cells transformed the fibroblast. Then they genetically modified the cancer cells and the fibroblast to knock out the protein. Without the protein, the prostate cancer cells had problems transforming the fibroblast. The study was the first to demonstrate such a role for glypican-1 and suggests that this protein may have the same effect on tumor growth in people. “Part of the significance of this study is that it demonstrates how cancer cells are able to change their environment in ways to facilitate their own growth,” Cummings said. “Prostate cancer cells alter their environment so that they can colonize bone. This study identifies a role for a protein that appears to inhibit the harmful changes that prostate cancer makes to the bone.” “This protein appears to stop the ability of cancer cells to change their environment, which decreases the cancer’s aggressiveness. The fact that this protein is found in the bone, where many aggressive prostate cancer cells reside, further increases the potential impact of this work.” To read the original article click here.

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Tomato Sauce Put to the Test for Prostate Cancer

AHA Publisher — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 07:00:05 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – What happened when cancer patients were given three quarters of a cup of canned tomato sauce every day for three weeks? “Occasionally…positive things happen in the field of cancer prevention science to popular, good-tasting foods.” Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli are wonderful, but they may be “a hard food for the public to swallow.” By contrast, who doesn’t like tomatoes? As I’ve discussed previously, studies using high-dose supplements of lycopene, the antioxidant red pigment in tomatoes thought to be the active anti-cancer ingredient, failed over and over again to prevent or treat cancer. In fact, it may even end up promoting cancer, since lycopene may actually act as a pro-oxidant at the high levels one can get with supplements. But, lycopene in supplement form doesn’t appear to be effective at lower doses either. “There is a strong inverse [protective] correlation between the intake of fruit and vegetables and the incidence of certain cancers.” However, when we supplement with only a single compound isolated in pill form, we may upset the healthy, natural balance of antioxidants. It does seem to be quite the human hubris to think we can reproduce the beneficial effects of consuming entire fruits and vegetables by giving supplements of a single phytochemical, which would normally interact with thousands of other compounds in the natural matrix Mother Nature intended. “In addition to lycopene, [other] known carotenoids in tomatoes and tomato-based products include β-carotene, γ-carotene, ζ-carotene, phytofluene, and phytoene, all of which…have been found to accumulate in human prostate tissue.” There are also numerous non-carotenoid compounds in tomatoes that may have anti-cancer activity, not to mention all of the compounds we have yet to even characterize. It’s not about finding the one magic bullet, though. As one study title reads, “The anti-cancer effects of carotenoids and other phytonutrients resides in their combined activity.” For example, as you can see at 1:52 in my video Tomato Sauce vs. Prostate Cancer, at the low concentrations of the tomato compounds phytoene, phytofluene, and lycopene that are found in most people who eat normal amounts of tomatoes, there’s very little effect on cancer cell growth in vitro when used separately. But, when they are combined together, a non-effective dose of phytoene and phytofluene plus a non-effective dose of lycopene somehow become effective, significantly suppressing prostate cancer cell growth. The same synergy can be seen across foods. Curcumin, the yellow pigment in turmeric and curry powder, tomato extracts, and the vitamin E found in nuts and seeds do little individually to inhibit pro-growth signaling of prostate cancer cells—less than 10 percent—but all three together suppress growth signaling about 70 percent. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. So, instead of giving cancer patients lycopene pills, what if we give them some tomato sauce? Researchers gave 32 patients with localized prostate cancer three quarters of a cup of canned tomato sauce every day for three weeks before their scheduled radical prostatectomy. In their bloodstream, PSA levels dropped by 17.5 percent. PSA, prostate-specific antigen, is a protein produced by prostate gland cells, and elevated blood PSA levels are routinely used to monitor the success of cancer treatment. “It was surprising to find that the 3-week, tomato sauce-based dietary intervention” could decrease PSA concentrations in men with prostate cancer. As well, free radical damage of the DNA in their white blood cells dropped by 21 percent. Imagine how antioxidant-poor their diet must have been beforehand if less than one cup of tomato sauce a day could reduce DNA damage by more than a fifth! What did they find in their prostates, though? Human prostate tissue is thought to be “particularly vulnerable to oxidative DNA damage by free radicals, which are thought to play a critical role in all stages of carcinogenesis,” that is, of cancer formation. This may be for a number of reasons, including fewer DNA repair enzymes. Well, the researchers had tissue samples taken from biopsies before the tomato sauce regimen started, as well as tissue samples from surgeries after three weeks of tomato sauce, and resected tissues from tomato sauce-supplemented patients had 28 percent less free radical damage than expected. I show a graph of the DNA damage in the prostate before the tomato sauce and after just 20 days of sauce at 4:18 in my video. You can see the drop yourself. What’s interesting is there was no association between the level of lycopene in the prostate and the protective effects. Tomatoes contain a whole bunch of things, some of which may be even more powerful than lycopene. Regardless, in contrast to the lycopene supplements alone, the whole food intervention seemedto help. To see if lycopene plays any role at all, one would have to test a lycopene-free tomato—in other words, a yellow tomato. So, what if you compared red tomatoes to yellow tomatoes, which have all the non-lycopene tomato compounds, to straight lycopene in a pill? Researchers fed people red tomato paste, yellow tomato paste, lycopene pills, or placebo pills, and then dripped their blood onto prostate cancer cells growing in a petri dish. As you can see at 5:18 in my video, the red tomato serum—the blood from those who ate red tomato paste—significantly decreased the prostate cancer cell’s expression of a growth-promoting gene called cyclin D1, compared to those not eating anything. This downregulation of the gene by the red tomato consumption “may contribute to lower prostate cancer risk by limiting cell proliferation.” The red tomato seemed to work better than the yellow tomato, so maybe the lycopene helped—but not in pill form. This gene “was not regulated” by the lycopene pill serum, indicating that it may be something else. And, lycopene alone significantly upregulated procarcinogenic genes. “Therefore, it can be stated that tomato consumption may be preferable to pure lycopene…” So, what’s the best way? A spouse wrote to the editor of the Harvard Men’s Health Watch, saying their husband wants to have pizza for his prostate but they don’t think it’s a healthy food. The doctor replied with the suggestion of a “cheese-free pizza (with broccoli instead of pepperoni, please)” or just some “tomato juice.” To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Greger click here.

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Helpful Foods to Support People with Autism

AHA Publisher — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 07:00:59 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – The sulforaphane found in five cents’ worth of broccoli sprouts has been shown to benefit autism in a way no drug ever has in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. You may remember my series of videos, which includes Prevent Cancer from Going on TOR, about target of rapamycin (TOR), the engine-of-aging enzyme. Kids with autism tend to have higher TOR activity in their bodies, and this hyperactive TOR signaling may play a role in causingautism, which makes TOR a potential target to treat autism or even theoretically reverse it if we could target downstream TOR signaling, like between TOR and S6K1, as you can see at 0:29 in my video Best Foods for Autism. In fact, that’s one of the ways sulforaphane, a compound in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, kills off prostate cancer cells—by inhibiting the signal transduction between TOR and S6K1. Sulforaphane is also “a potent inhibitor” of breast cancer cells because “it targets downstream elements of the [TOR] pathway.” So, if broccoli blocks TOR and if we give it to those with autism, maybe it would block some of the synaptic dysfunction that contributes to the features of autism—and that’s in addition to blocking autism pathways four other ways: oxidative stress, lower antioxidant capacity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and brain inflammation. What’s more, this doesn’t only occur in a petri dish. “Importantly, sulforaphane can cross the blood-brain-barrier,” so when you eat broccoli, sulforaphane quickly reaches your brain “to exert its protective effects”—at least it does in theory. You don’t know, of course, until you put it to the test. You can understand why such a study could attract researchers from such leading institutions as Harvard and Johns Hopkins, and get published in one of our most prestigious journals, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. What did they find? First, what did they do? “In a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial, young men (aged 13–27) with moderate to severe ASD [autism] received” sulforaphane from broccoli sprouts or an indistinguishable sugar pill. They were dosed according to body weight: Those under 100 pounds got about a tablespoon of broccoli sprouts’ worth of sulforaphane a day, which is about a cup’s worth of broccoli, those weighing between 100 and 200 pounds got about the equivalent of two cups of broccoli or two tablespoons of fresh broccoli sprouts, and those over 200 pounds got three cups’ worth a day or a little under a quarter cup of broccoli sprouts. Why didn’t the researchers use actual broccoli or actual sprouts? If they had, it wouldn’t have been a blinded study. The patients, doctors, and parents would know who was and who wasn’t getting the special treatment, which could introduce bias through the placebo effect. Instead, with this study set-up, no one knew until the end who got the sulforaphane and who got the placebo. The researchers chose dietary sulforaphane because of its capacity to reverse oxidation, dysfunction, and inflammation, but when put to the test, did it actually work? The placebo didn’t. Give people with autism nothing, and nothing much happens. But effectively secretly sneak them some broccoli, and substantial improvements in behavior, social interaction, and verbal communication occurred. However, it all disappeared once the broccoli was stopped. As you can see at 3:25 in my video, on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, which includes things such as repetitive behaviors, there was no big change in the placebo group, which is what you’d expect, but the abnormal behaviors plunged in the sulforaphane group—the group who got the sulforaphane found in only about five cents’ worth of broccoli sprouts a day. The study ended in week 18, however, and a month later, things were heading back to where they started. There were similar findings on a Social Responsiveness Scale: significant improvements were seen until the treatment was stopped, and then the participants went right back to functioning as poorly as those in the placebo group had continued to function. And these weren’t just scores on a page. “The substantial improvements…were conspicuous”—the doctors, parents, and caregivers could see the improvements. No drug has ever been shown to have these kinds of effects. What’s more, these were young men, starting at age 13. One could imagine it working as well or even better with younger children because their brains are still developing. And, is there a downside? “Broccoli sprouts are widely consumed as a food item all over the world by a very large number of individuals, without any reports of adverse effects”—but remember we’re talking about whole foods, not sulforaphane supplements. Indeed, broccoli sprouts work, but commercial broccoli sprout supplements hardly work at all. As you can see at 4:55 in my video, broccoli has sulforaphane, with the florets more so than the stems, and broccoli sprouts have about ten times more sulforaphane. In comparison, broccoli pills, powders, and supplements have little or none. So, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables arefor all kids, whether they have autism or not, and they may be for pregnant women as well for the potential prenatal prevention of autism in the first place. This article covers the big finale to my initial three-part video series on autism. For the background that led researchers down this path of clues, check out Fever Benefits for Autism in a Food and Fighting Autism Brain Inflammation with Food. You can also check: Flashback Friday: The Best Foods for Fighting Autism and Brain Inflammation. We understand there may be a variety of challenges pertaining to catering to picky palates, sensory and food texture sensitivities, or kids who are reluctant to try new foods, and we hope this evidence-based article can provide some helpful health information to parents and health practitioners. For more tips and tricks, check out How to Get Kids to Eat Their Vegetables. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Greger click here.

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Camel Antibodies Can Fight Prostate Cancer, Study Shows

AHA Publisher — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 08:00:13 +0000

Naama Barak via Israel21c – Researchers based in the desert extract nanobodies from camels that can be used to deliver drugs directly to cancerous cells. Antibodies from female camels can help fight prostate cancer by delivering potent drugs to cancer cells without damaging normal cells, a recent Israeli study has shown. The study, led by Prof. Niv Papo and PhD candidate Lior Rosenfeld from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, managed to identify nanobodies in female camels that bind to receptors that are overexpressed in prostate cancer tumors and which can be conjugated to a cytotoxic drug, enabling the delivery of the drug to the cell. The research was recently published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. “We wanted to do something new, a new molecule that is unconventional,” explains Papo. “Historically, immunotherapy uses antibodies. These are very large molecules that are injected into the body. They find their way to the cancerous cells and they damage them.” Papo and Rosenfeld decided to utilize nanobodies – which are only 10 percent the size of regular antibodies – that can be found in sharks and camels. Since they are located in the Negev Desert, they opted for camels. “We bought a female camel and we’re raising it in a nearby farm. For four months, we injected it with the receptor that’s located on the cancerous cells,” he explains. The injection of these receptors – prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) enzymes – led to the creation of antibodies in the camel’s body, from which the researchers extracted the four nanobodies that bound themselves best to the receptors. The researchers then attached drugs to the nanobodies which managed to directly lead the way to the cancerous cells, meaning that only a small amount of drugs needed to be used and that other cells were not harmed in the process. The preclinical trials were carried out on mice and showed tumor growth inhibition, and the researchers are now in touch with a US company regarding clinical trials. They also plan on identifying other female camel nanobodies that could be used in a similar way to treat other kinds of cancers. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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Can Soy Prevent and Treat Prostate Cancer?

AHA Publisher — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 08:00:34 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via NutritionFacts – As I discuss in my video The Role of Soy Foods in Prostate Cancer Prevention and Treatment, a compilation of 13 observational studies on soy food consumption and the risk of prostate cancer found that soy foods appear to be “protective.” What are observational studies? As opposed to interventional studies, in observational studies, researchers observe what people are eating but don’t intervene and try to change their diets. In these studies, they observed that men who ate more soy foods had lower rates of prostate cancer, but the problem with observational studies is that there could be confounding factors. For example, “people who choose to eat soy also make other lifestyle decisions that lower the risk of cancer (e.g., lower fat intake, higher vegetable and fruit intake, more frequent exercise),” maybe that is why they have less cancer. Most of the studies tried to control for these other lifestyle factors, but you can’t control for everything. What’s more, most of the studies were done in Asia, so maybe tofu consumption is just a sign of eating a more traditional diet. Is it possible that the reason non-tofu consumers got more cancer is that they had abandoned their traditional diet? If only we could look at a Western population that ate a lot of soy. We can: the Seventh-Day Adventists. In the 1970s, more than 12,000 Adventist men were asked about their use of soy milk and then were followed for up to 16 years to see who got cancer and who did not. So, what did they find? Frequent consumption of soy milk was associated with a whopping 70 percent reduction of the risk of prostate cancer, as you can see at 1:33 in my video. Similarly, in a multiethnic study that involved a number of groups, soy intake appeared protective in Latinos, too. Prostate cells carry beta type estrogen receptors, which appear to act as a tumor suppressor, a kind of “gatekeeper…inhibiting invasion, proliferation and…preventing” the prostate cells from turning cancerous. And, those are the receptors targeted by the phytoestrogens in soy, like genistein, which inhibits prostate cancer cell invasion and spread in a petri dish at the kind of levels one might get consuming soy foods. The prevention of metastases is critical, as death from prostate cancer isn’t caused by the original tumor, but its spread throughout the body, which explains why it “is recommended that men with prostate cancer consume soy foods, such as soybeans, tofu, miso and tempeh.” Wait a moment. Dean Ornish and his colleagues got amazing results, apparently reversing the progression of prostate cancer with a plant-based diet and lifestyle program. Was it because of the soy? Their study didn’t just include a vegan diet, but a vegan diet supplemented with a daily serving of tofu and a soy protein isolate powder. There have been studies showing that men given soy protein powders develop less prostate cancer than the control group, but what was the control group getting? Milk protein powder. Those randomized to the milk group got six times more prostate cancer than the soy group, but was that due to the beneficial effects of soy or the deleterious effects of the dairy? Dairy products are not just associated with getting prostate cancer, but also with dying from prostate cancer. Men diagnosed with prostate cancer who then ate more dairy tended to die sooner, and “both low-fat and high-fat dairy consumption were positively associated with an increased risk of fatal outcome.” The best study we have on soy protein powder supplementation for prostate cancer patients found no significant benefit, and neither did a series of soy phytoestrogen dietary supplements. But, perhaps that’s because they used isolated soy components rather than a whole soy food. “Taking the whole-food approach may be more efficacious,” but it can be hard to do controlled studies with whole foods: You can make fake pills, but how do you give people placebo tofu? A group of Australian researchers creatively came up with a specially manufactured bread containing soy grits to compare to a placebo regular bread and gave slices to men diagnosed with prostate cancer awaiting surgery. As you can see at 4:31 in my video, they saw a remarkable difference in just about three weeks time. It was the first study to show that a diet incorporating a whole soy food could favorably affect prostate cancer markers, but you can’t just go out and buy soy grit bread. Another study was a little more practical. Twenty men with prostate cancer who had been treated with radiation or surgery but seemed to be relapsing were asked to drink three cups of regular soy milk a day. The PSA levels in each of the 20 patients were all rising before they started the soy milk, suggesting they had relapsing or metastatic cancer growing inside of them. However, during a year drinking soy milk, 6 out of the 20 subjects got better, 2 got worse, and the remaining 12 remained unchanged, as you can see from 5:02 in my video. So, they concluded that soy food may help in a subset of patients. Based on all these studies, the results Ornish and his colleagues got were probably due to more than just the soy. Similarly, the low prostate cancer rates in Asia are probably because of more than just the soy, since the lowest rates are also found in parts of Africa, where I don’t think they’re eating a lot of tofu. Indeed, in the multiethnic study, other types of beans besides soy also appeared protective for Latinos and all the groups put together, when looking at the most aggressive forms of prostate cancer. So, the protection associated with plant-based diets may be due to eating a variety of healthy foods. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Greger click here.

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