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Dairy Milk Hormones’ Effects on Cancer

The AHA! Team — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 08:44:47 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – What are the effects of the female sex hormones in cow’s milk on men, women, and children? All foods of animal origin contain hormones, but most of our dietary exposure to hormones comes from dairy products. By quantity, as you can see below and at 0:16 in my video The Effects of Hormones in Dairy Milk on Cancer, it is mostly prolactin, corticosteroids, and progesterone, but there are also a bunch of estrogens, which concentrate even further when other dairy products are made. For instance, Hormones are five times more concentrated in cream and cheese, and ten times more in butter. When it comes to steroid hormones in the food supply, about three-quarters of our exposure to ingested female sex steroids come from dairy, and the rest is split evenly between eggs and meat (including fish). Indeed, eggs contribute about as much as all meat combined, which makes a certain amount of sense since an egg comes straight from a hen’s ovary. Among the various types of meat, you get as much from white meat (fish and poultry) as you do from pork and beef, and this is just from natural hormones—not added hormone injections, like bovine growth hormone. So, it doesn’t matter if the meat is organic. Animals produce hormones because they’re animals, and their hormones understandably end up in animal products. About half of the people surveyed “did not know that milk naturally contains hormones,” and many “lacked basic knowledge (22% did not know that cows only give milk after calving)”—that is, they didn’t realize what milk is for—feeding baby calves. Researchers suggested we ought to inform the public about dairy production practices. In response, one Journal of Dairy Science respondent wrote that telling the public about the industry’s new technologies, like transgenic animals (meaning genetically engineered farm animals), “or contentious husbandry practices” (such as taking away that newly born calf so we can have more of the milk or “zero-grazing for dairy cows”—i.e., not letting cows out on grass), “does not result in high rates of public approval,” so ixnay on the educationay. The public may not know the extent to which they are exposed to estrogen through the intake of commercial milk produced from pregnant cows, which has potential public health implications. Modern genetically improved dairy cows, can get reimpregnated after giving birth and lactate throughout almost their entire next pregnancy “Modern genetically improved dairy cows, such as the Holstein,” the stereotypical black and white cow, can get reimpregnated after giving birth and lactate throughout almost their entire next pregnancy, which means that, these days, commercial cow’s milk contains large amounts of pregnancy hormones, like estrogens and progesterone. As you can see in the graph below and at 2:42 in my video, during the first eight months of a pregnant cow’s nine-month gestation, hormone levels in her milk shoot up more than 20-fold. Even so, we’re only talking about a millionth of a gram per quart, easily 10 to 20 times less estrogen hormones than you’d find in a birth control pill. In that case, would drinking it really have an effect on human hormone levels? Researchers analyzed three different estrogens and one progesterone metabolite flowing through the bodies of seven men before and after they drank about a liter of milk. Within hours of drinking the milk, their hormone levels shot up, as you can see in the graph below and at 3:08 in my video. The researchers also looked at the average levels of female sex steroids flowing through the bodies of six schoolchildren (with an average age of eight) before and after they drank about two cups of milk. Within hours of drinking the milk, their levels shot up, tripling or quadrupling their baseline hormone levels, as you can see in the graph below and at 3:23 in my video. So, one can imagine the effects milk might have on men or prepubescent children, but what about women? Presumably, women would have high levels of estrogen in their body in the first place, wouldn’t they? Well, not all women. What about postmenopausal women and endometrial cancer, for example? Estrogens have “a central role” in the development of endometrial cancer, cancer of the lining of the uterus. “Milk and dairy products are a source of steroid hormones and growth factors that might have physiological effects in humans.” So, Harvard researchers followed tens of thousands of women and their dairy consumption for decades and found a significantly higher risk of endometrial cancer among postmenopausal women who consumed more dairy, as shown below and at 4:19 in my video. What about dietary exposure to hormones and breast cancer? Unfortunately, “understanding the role of dietary hormone exposure in the population burden of breast cancer is not possible at this time.” For more on the relationship between cancer and dairy, see related videos below. I talk about the effect of dairy estrogen on men in Dairy Estrogen and Male Fertility. What about the phytoestrogens in soy? See here. Key Takeaways Although hormones are in all animal products, the majority (about three-quarters) of our dietary exposure comes from milk and other dairy products. The hormones in milk concentrate even further when other dairy products are produced—e.g., five times more concentrated in cream and cheese, and ten times more in butter. The rest (about one-quarter) of our exposure to ingested female sex steroids is split evenly between eggs and meat (including fish), with eggs contributing about as much as all meats combined and white meat (fish and poultry) contributing about as much as pork and beef. About 50 percent of people surveyed didn’t know that hormones are naturally found in milk, and more than one in five didn’t know that cows only produce milk after calving (intended to feed their calves). In response to the suggestion that consumers should be informed of dairy production practices, a Journal of Dairy Science respondent disagreed, believing that telling the public about practices, such as genetically engineering animals, removing calves soon after birth, and keeping cows off grass or pasture, “does not result in high rates of public approval.” Today, dairy cows may be reimpregnated after giving birth and lactate throughout nearly their whole pregnancy. So, large amounts of pregnancy hormones, like estrogens and progesterone, can be found in commercial cow’s milk. Researchers found that hormone levels shot up in men and school-aged kids within hours of drinking about a liter of milk. Estrogens play “a central role” in the development of endometrial cancer, and researchers found a significantly greater risk of this type of cancer among postmenopausal women who consume more dairy, which is a source of steroid hormones and growth factors. Regarding breast cancer and dietary exposure to hormones, “understanding the role” isn’t currently possible. To read the original article click here.

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13 Emerging and Promising Covid Treatments

AHA Publisher — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 07:00:09 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – “We believe humanity needs a toolbox of different solutions for Covid-19,” says Immanuel Lerner, CEO of Pepticom, one of the companies detailed below. In parallel to vaccine research, there’s an urgent need for effective treatments for the respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Scientists across the globe are working on vaccines to prevent Covid-19 infection. (Click here to read about six Israeli vaccine candidates.) But in the meanwhile, and even after initial vaccines are approved, there is an urgent need for effective treatments for the respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Most potential treatments target the life-threatening lung inflammation typical of serious Covid-19 cases. It’s caused by a phenomenon called a “cytokine storm.” Cytokines are proteins that trigger inflammation as a natural response to infection. In response to a virus overload, in this case in the lungs, the immune system activates a storm of cytokines. Too many cytokines lead to too much inflammation, which can damage the lungs and cause respiratory distress. Israeli hospitals were among the first anywhere to use dexamethasone, a steroid drug, to stop cytokines storms and reduce lung inflammation in severely ill Covid-19 patients. However, steroids can suppress the immune response too strongly. Additionally, an Israeli hospital is among the first to do a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of ivermectin, a drug to treat parasitic infections in people and animals, to see if it can shorten the duration of the disease if given to Covid-19 patients immediately after diagnosis. Israelis are also formulating novel therapeutics of their own. Below we summarize 13 potential Israeli treatments using a variety of approaches – such as placenta-derived cells, peptides, blood plasma of recovered patients, and the cannabis compound CBD. There is plenty of room for more than one treatment. “We believe humanity needs a toolbox of different solutions for Covid-19,” says Immanuel Lerner, CEO of Pepticom, one of the companies detailed below. Pluristem On June 11, Pluristem Therapeutics of Haifa announced a multicenter Phase 2 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) efficacy and safety study of its PLX-PAD cells for treating severe Covid-19 complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). PLX, an injected regenerative placenta-derived cell therapy, stimulates the immune system’s natural regulatory T cells and M2 macrophages, possibly preventing or reversing a cytokine storm. PLX cells potentially reduce the incidence and/or severity of Covid-19 pneumonia and pneumonitis. Pluristem has treated Covid-19 patients under compassionate use programs in the United States and Israel. Initial data from 18 patients showed that 75% were off mechanical ventilation within 28 days. “PLX cells are available off-the-shelf and once commercialized, can be manufactured in large-scale quantities, offering a key advantage in addressing a global pandemic,” the company said. Silkim Jerusalem-based Silkim Pharma recently submitted Coronzot, its novel treatment for Covid-19 patients with moderate to severe symptoms, to the FDA’s Investigational New Drug (IND) program. IND designation would give Silkim permission to start human clinical trials and to ship Coronzot across state lines before a marketing application has been approved. Coronzot’s novel mechanism targets a pivotal factor in cytokine storms. It removes an inflammatory overaccumulation of labile iron and replaces it with a minute amount of gallium or zinc. This not only suppresses the storm but also inhibits viral proteins that attack the lungs and heart. Gallium inhibits virus replication and promotes apoptosis (self-destruction) of already invaded cells. Zinc helps suppress inflammatory reactions and enzymes that enable coronavirus replication. The company is actively engaged in the FDA process. “We look forward to finalizing the IND and then moving towards conducting clinical studies of Coronzot for Covid-19,” said Silkim Pharma CEO Dror Chevion. RedHill Biopharma RedHill Biopharma, based in Raleigh, North Carolina and Tel Aviv, is “moving rapidly to advance our development program with opaganib for Covid-19,” according to a June 10 statement by Dr. Mark L. Levitt, RedHill medical director. RedHill acquired opaganib from US-based Apogee Biotechnology, which developed this oral drug to fight cancer, inflammation and viruses. RedHill has seen encouraging preliminary findings from six Israeli Covid-19 patients given opaganib under compassionate use to reduce lung inflammation. All were weaned from supplemental oxygen and discharged from the hospital without having to receive mechanical ventilation. RedHill plans a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, parallel-arm, placebo-controlled Phase 2/3 clinical study on 270 US patients with severe Covid-19 pneumonia. “We are expanding the development program to Russia and additional European countries, in parallel with the US clinical study, in order to accelerate the collection of robust data on the potential efficacy of opaganib against Covid-19,” said Levitt. The company is working with government agencies worldwide to allow more patients access to the investigational drug through clinical studies and compassionate use programs. InnoCan InnoCan Pharma Israel and Tel Aviv University tech-transfer company Ramot are collaborating to develop a new CBD-loaded exosome technology to fight lung inflammation. Exosomes, small particles created from stem cells, can act as “homing missiles” targeting specific damaged organs and facilitating cell-to-cell communication. Combining the cell-healing properties of exosomes with the anti-inflammatory properties of the cannabis-derived compound CBD is expected to have a strong synergetic effect. The treatment is administrated by inhalation. Stero Biotechs Stero Biotechs of Bnei Brak has started a small clinical trial at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on the tolerability, safety and efficacy of a CBD-enhanced steroid treatment for hospitalized Covid-19 patients. “Steroid treatment is usually the first or second line of treatment for hospitalized patients. CBD enhances the therapeutic effect of steroid treatment and treats the bio-mechanism affected by the virus,” the company explained. Eybna and CannaSoul Two Israeli cannabis R&D firms, Eybna Technologies and CannaSoul Analytics, are developing a proprietary terpene formulation for modulating cytokine storms. Terpenes are organic compounds found in cannabis and other plants. Studies suggest they can be effective antiviral agents. CannaSoul’s Cytokine Storm Assay (from its Myplant-Bio subsidiary) will aid in optimizing and customizing Eybna’s novel NT-VRL inhaled formulation for treatment and prevention of viral infections in high-risk populations and actively ill patients. “The FDA considers this assay as a good predictor for cytokine storm response and immunotoxicity, and it is commonly required in the development of biological treatments,” according to CannaSoul Chairman and CSO Prof. Dedi Meiri. “The NT-VRL formulation intended to be used via inhalation,” said Eybna CEO Nadav Eyal. “This delivery method dramatically increases the terpenes’ bioavailability by directly contacting the infected cells in the respiratory system.” CannaSoul aims to identify other cannabis molecules capable of suppressing a cytokine storm in response to Covid-19 without completely suppressing the immune system. It is also studying how cannabis molecules could modulate the ACE2 receptor, which allows the virus to inject its genetic expression into human cells. Kamada Based in Rehovot, Kamada has begun supplying its experimental plasma-derived Hyperimmune IgG therapy for compassionate use in severe Covid-19 cases in Israel. The treatment is based on plasma donated by recovered Israeli Covid-19 patients. One critically ill patient at Hadassah Medical Center showed initial improvement after having the experimental IgG therapy but ultimately did not survive. During the third quarter of this year, Kamada expects to start a Phase 1/2 clinical study in hospitalized Covid-19 patients in Israel and hold a pre-IND meeting with the FDA to expand clinical development in the United States in partnership with Kedrion Biopharma. Kedrion is collecting plasma from recovered American Covid-19 patients at 23 FDA-approved centers across the United States. This will be used by Kamada to manufacture additional batches of the product. “To the best of our knowledge, Kamada is the first company globally to complete manufacturing of a plasma-derived IgG product for the treatment of Covid-19,” said Kamada CEO Amir London. Israel Institute for Biological Research The government-run Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) announced in May that analogues of two drugs for Gaucher’s disease proved effective against SARS-CoV-2. This drug cocktail is made up of the FDA-approved Cerdelga and an analogue of a second drug in advanced stages of the approval process. The IIBR study on cell cultures demonstrated that the two-drug treatment significantly reduced the replication capacity of the coronavirus and the destruction of the infected cell. This potential treatment is currently being tested in animals infected with the coronavirus. The IIRB also isolated several key coronavirus antibodies that successfully neutralized aggressive coronavirus in lab tests. These could form the basis of a future treatment following further testing. Pepticom Based in Jerusalem, Pepticom computationally designs novel peptide drug candidates using artificial intelligence. The company raised $5 million last year. Three months ago, Pepticom began implementing its proprietary AI technology on various coronavirus proteins to identify novel peptides that inhibit interaction between the spike protein of SARS-Cov-2 and the ACE2 receptor – thereby stopping the virus from entering the cell. CEO Immanuel Lerner says three such proteins have already been identified and are being validated in the lab. “Using AI is a fast way to find these peptides, which are less expensive and easier to produce than antibodies,” Lerner tells ISRAEL21c. “Many parties are interested in looking at our results and finding ways to develop this further.” Bonus BioGroup In April, Bonus BioGroup initiated a preclinical study of MesenCure, its unique drug for treating acute and life-threatening respiratory distress in coronavirus and pneumonia patients. MesenCure consists of activated mesenchymal stromal (stem) cells from healthy adult donors. The activation of these MSCs is intended to boost their ability to reduce lung inflammation, promote regeneration of the diseased lung tissue, and alleviate respiratory and other symptoms in the lungs. The development of MesenCure relies on more than a decade of related experience and technologies that Bonus BioGroup has used in developing its lead product, a tissue-engineered bone graft also based on MSCs. “With the current coronavirus outbreak, Bonus BioGroup has started tissue culture studies into the potential of these MSCs, further activated, to alleviate inflammation, including in the lungs, and possibly attenuate the cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients,” the company explained. The preclinical study in several animal models is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2020. The company said preliminary results indicate that “following the treatment with MesenCure, the microscopic appearance of the treated lungs was similar to a healthy lung, and a significant improvement in additional related parameters was achieved.” Bonus BioGroup presented these results to 1,800 scientists, physicians, and public opinion leaders at the virtual conference of the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy in May. NanoGhost Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Prof. Marcelle Machluf developed a drug-delivery technology that uses reconstructed mesenchymal stem cells as nano-vesicles to transport medicine directly to a target. NanoGhost is the startup she established to commercialize the technology, which has proven successful in treating pancreatic, lung, breast, prostate, and brain cancer in mice. The NanoGhost technology has been patented in the United States and Europe, with additional patents pending in India and China. Now, Machluf is adapting her technology to create decoy NanoGhosts that attract and entrap the coronavirus, making for a less severe infection. She explains it in the video below. Enlivex Enlivex Therapeutics of Ness Ziona is developing Allocetra, a novel immunotherapy medication to treat organ dysfunction and acute multiple organ failure associated with sepsis and Covid-19, as well as solid tumors. Allocetra rebalances a severely unbalanced immune system by engaging with the immune system’s own regulation mechanisms. It is designed to restore safe immune balance following a cytokine storm. Enlivex is starting to recruit Covid-19 patients in Israel and in the United States to test the potential effect of Allocetra on moderate to severe cases. A patent from the Japan Patent Office is expected during the third quarter of 2020. Weizmann Institute of Science Organic chemist Nir London of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot is co-leading a collaborative project to identify small molecules that can bind to and inhibit a protease enzyme that the SARS-CoV-2 virus needs to reproduce. London and his research team had previously developed an advanced method for identifying potential inhibitors for numerous proteins. “So far, we have made close to 800 compounds and...

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