- - European weblog on food, health and environment
News - week 43 - 2007
Video - Most Astonishing Health
Disaster of the 20th Century
Imaging shows structural changes in
mild traumatic brain injury
Researchers report that diffusion tensor
imaging can identify structural changes in the white matter of the brain that correlates
to cognitive deficits even in patients with mild traumatic brain injury.
Video -
Wal-Mart Lobbies Against Food Safety Measures
Contribution of cholesterol
transporter to vascular disease
Low-density lipoprotein, a transporter of
cholesterol, may also contribute to vascular diseases by a previously unidentified
mechanism, according to a report published online this week in EMBO reports. The study
reveals a link between native LDL and the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1,
which plays a central role in blood vessel formation.
French clay that kills several kinds of
disease-causing bacteria is at the forefront of new research into age-old, nearly
forgotten, but surprisingly potent cures. Among the malevolent bacteria that a French clay
has been shown to fight is a 'flesh-eating' bug on the rise in Africa and the germ called
MRSA, which was blamed for the recent deaths of two children in Virginia and Mississippi.
'Knocking out' cell receptor may
help block fat deposits in tissues, prevent weight gain
University of Cincinnati pathologists have
identified a new molecular target that one day may help scientists develop drugs to reduce
fat transport to adipocytes in the body and prevent obesity and related disorders, like
diabetes.
A new chemotherapeutic target for
hepatocellular carcinoma
Many of hepatocellular carcinomas with
scattered tumors cannot be operated on and therefore, in such patients, transcatheter
arterial chemoembolization is performed as an important alternative treatment. This study
suggests that survivin inhibition for early HCC could be potentially useful as an
effective interventional radiological treatment modality.
Acute pancreatitis and cholangitis
- a complication caused by a migrated gastrostomy tube
Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy is
generally considered to be safe with a low rate of serious complications. However,
dislocation of a gastrostomy tube can lead to serious complications. A research group led
by Dr. Imamura experienced a very rare complication of acute pancreatitis and cholangitis
caused by migrated gastrostomy tube. It is important to secure a PEG-tube at skin level,
especially a couple of days after it is replaced.
Women still face cancer risk 25
years after treatment
Women are still at risk of developing
invasive cancer of the cervix or vagina 25 years after being treated for precancerous
lesions, according to a study published today online.
Video - Nano
explorers - science fiction or reality?
Humidifiers - Vital steps for
cleaning
Humidifiers can provide relief from the
annoying effects of dry winter air, such as dry skin and chapped lips. Humidifiers may
also be soothing for people who have asthma flare-ups because of dry indoor air. But
whatever the reason for using humidifiers, it's essential to properly maintain and clean
them. Dirty humidifiers can create more problems than they solve.
Ordinary people worry about the extra, and
often burdensome, responsibilities which could come with scientists' promises of
'personalized medicine,' according to evidence to be presented at a major two-day showcase
of groundbreaking social science research into the whole field of genomics, funded by the
Economic and Social Research Council.
Video - Bruce
E. Levine appears on Good Morning Cincinnati
Bruce E. Levine, author of Surviving
America's Depression Epidemic, is interviewed on the Channel 12 News program Good Morning
Cincinnati. He addresses the legalized corruption of America's drug industry and how it is
detrimental the health received by Americans
Severely restricted diet linked to
physical fitness into old age
Severely restricting calories leads to a
longer life, scientists have proved. New research now has shown for the first time that
such a diet also can maintain physical fitness into advanced age, slowing the seemingly
inevitable progression to physical disability and loss of independence.
Role of a key enzyme in reducing
heart disease identified
Virginia Commonwealth University
researchers have identified the role of a key enzyme called CEH in reducing heart disease,
paving the way for new target therapies to reduce plaques in the arteries and perhaps in
the future, help predict a patient's susceptibility to heart disease.
From 1999 to 2004, the Health Council's
Committee on the Safety Assessment of Novel Foods (VNV) carried out dossier assessments in
the context of European Regulation 258/97. In addition to advisory reports on specific
products, in 2002 this Committee published an advisory report on an assessment framework
for novel foods. The present advisory report supplements that previous document.Here, the
emphasis is on topics associated with the implementation of the regulation, and on
developments in the field.
What is a novel food?
The Committee has highlighted the fact that
there is still considerable debate about when products should or should not be
characterised as novel foods. According to the regulation, products are not novel foods if
they have a long and safe tradition of use for dietary purposes. According to the
Committee, this should only apply to instances of documented use within the European
Union. If one of the member states declares that a food was consumed in significant
quantities on its territory prior to 1997, and if it can provide evidence to support this
claim, then all of the other member states tend to accept this.
Many products are being developed that
involve the addition to foods, in concentrated form, of components that occur naturally in
foods. The VNV Committee takes the view that "dependent on the size of the
concentration increase involved and on the nature of the ingredient in question";
such products should sometimes be designated as novel foods. In certain cases, the
composition of foods of animal origin can be modified in a controlled way, through changes
made to cattle feed.
The Committee believes that if there have
been substantial changes to the nutritional value of the end products, to the levels of
undesirable substances that they contain or to their metabolism, then these too should be
regarded as novel foods. On several occasions, the Committee was confronted with proposals
for the use of ingredients that had previously been used in food supplements. The
Committee believes that such use does not indemnify these ingredients against testing in
accordance with the new food legislation.
According to the current regulation, new
strains developed by means of traditional improvement methods are not considered to be
novel foods. The Committee feels that this is inappropriate, however, as the use of such
methods brings about substantial changes in the end product. The Committee urges that the
efficacy of specific bio-active compounds should not be disengaged from the issue of
safety. New uses for existing ingredients "such as micronutrients and dietary
fibre" in special categories of foods, such as foods especially developed for medical
purposes and infant formulas, deserve further assessment.
Requirements for a notification dossier
New sources are sometimes found for
familiar foods or ingredients. This may involve a different species of animal, plant or
micro-organism. Such cases often involve the notification procedure, in which it must be
established that the product in question is substantially equivalent to a food that has
already been approved. The Committee feels, however, that an authorisation procedure
should be mandatory when a new source is used, except in the case of products that are
highly purified. In such cases, a notification should be sufficient.
The Committee notes that, in practice,
different European member states vary considerably in their approach to the option of
granting products admission to the market by means of the notification procedure.
The requirements for a notification dossier
should therefore be harmonised at European level. The Committee has put forward a number
of suggestions to this end. The notification procedure centres around the judgement of
whether or not there is substantial equivalence to foods that have already been approved.
However, it is the Committee’s view that notification requests should
automatically involve a broad check of the entire body of current legislation pertaining
to the food in question, such as procedures concerning hygiene and contaminants. According
to the current regulation, foods that are created
through the use of a substantially novel production process can only be assessed by means
of an authorisation procedure. However, it is the Committee’s view that a
notification would be appropriate if the end product can be shown to be substantially
equivalent to an existing product.
Requirements for an authorisation dossier
On the basis of its experience, the
Committee has worked out the requirements to be imposed on dossiers for the authorisation
of various categories of novel foods. These requirements must nevertheless be
harmonised at European level. For the purposes of this advisory report, separate
consideration is given to the assessment of any allergenic properties that a product might
possess. This is because, in the Committee's view, the methods for doing so have not yet
been fully put into practice. Further research into the cross-reactivity of allergenic
proteins from various sources can serve as the basis for an
improved pre-marketing assessment of the allergenic potential of novel foods.
Incidentally, the Committee feels that any market introduction of novel foods with
allergenic properties should be linked to adequate flanking measures. Given the scientific
restrictions associated with the pre-marketing assessment, there should be a systematic
registration system for reports of the occurrence of allergic reactions to foods.
The importance of market monitoring
In its 2002 advisory report, the Committee
expressed its views on the options for the post-launch monitoring of novel foods.
Subsequent developments have shown that the market monitoring of specific bio-active
compounds, such as plant sterols, affords some insight into the ways in which these
products are used. The Committee endorses the recommendations made by the National
Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in this field. It is delighted that
the new European traceability legislation will enable more tightly focused measures to be
taken in the event of incidents.
The Committee is fully cognizant of the
fact that the interests of food safety are viewed in the perspective of positive health
effects of foods. However, it states that the high level of food safety that has already
been achieved must be maintained. It takes the view that the current practice of
pre-marketing assessment of the safety of novel foods contributes to this. This Committee
has now been relaunched, following the transfer of this work to the Medicines Evaluation
Board Agency (CBG) on 1 January 2005. In this way, it continues to play a part in the
European assessment procedure for novel foods.
Health Council of the Netherlands
Video - Dr Whiting on Plant-Derived
Organic Colloidal Minerals
Aanrader !!
Natural product discovery by
Cleveland medical researchers blocks tissue destruction
Scientists at Case Western Reserve
University's School of Medicine have published in the Journal of Inflammation a remarkable
discovery with a natural product derived from the Amazon rainforest. The discovery's
unique actions suggest a broad set of applications in various joint, skin and
gastrointestinal diseases, including osteoarthritis and irritable bowel syndrome.
Humans and monkeys share
Machiavellian intelligence
When it comes to their social behavior,
people sometimes act like monkeys, or more specifically, like rhesus macaques, a type of
monkey that shares with humans strong tendencies for nepotism and political maneuvering,
according to research at the University of Chicago. "After humans, rhesus macaques
are one of the most successful primate species on our planet; our Machiavellian
intelligence may be one of the reasons for our success," said associate professor
Dario Maestripieri.
Smoked cannabis proven effective in
treating neuropathic pain
Smoked cannabis eased pain induced in
healthy volunteers, according to a study by researchers at the University of California,
San Diego Center for Medical Cannabis Research However, the researchers found that less
may be more.
Pregnant women at risk for
unnecessary operations due to misdiagnosis of appendicitis
New research published in the October issue
of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons suggests that pregnant women suspected
of having appendicitis are often misdiagnosed and undergo unnecessary appendectomies
(removal of the appendix) that can result in early delivery or loss of the fetus. The
study points to the need to require more accurate diagnosis to avoid unnecessary
operations and the potential for fetal loss.
Sleep-Deprived May Focus More on
the Negative, Says Study
Researchers at Harvard Medical School and
the University of California, Berkeley, found that sleep-deprived people suffer from a
shutdown of the prefrontal lobe, a region of the brain which usually keeps emotions under
control.
researchers in the United States have
carried out a study and found that regular consumption of whole-grain breakfast cereal
lowers the risk of heart failure in the long run.
Disney to Phase Out Trans Fat in
Theme Parks Overseas
Walt Disney Co., seeking to address
concerns about childhood obesity and eating habits, will phase out trans fats from food
served at its theme parks in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo over the next two years.
The study, by a research team from the
University of New South Wales and the University of Melbourne, found people do not shed
fat simply because they smoked.
High Waist Circumference
Independently Associated With Cardiovascular Disease and Especially Diabetes
The first of its kind, IDEA was a large
international study assessing the frequency of abdominal obesity in nearly 170,000 people
and involving over 6,300 primary care offices in 63 countries. The study demonstrates that
abdominal adiposity, as measured by WC is highly correlated with an increased risk for
cardiovascular disease and diabetes worldwide.
Avoid using plastic containers in the
microwave, since unsafe chemicals are released when plastics are heated. Instead, use
glass or ceramic containers to microwave food and beverages.
The Donald H. Enlow International
Research Symposium
November 6-7, 2006
An Integrative Approach to Skeletal Biology
honors the life and career of Donald H. Enlow, PhD. This two-day conference heralds
Enlow’s integrative approach to human skeletal development and morphology that has
come to define the state-of-the-art relationship between health and basic sciences.
Research topics based upon Enlow’s scientific contributions will be presented and his
lifetime collection of bone histological slides will be made publicly accessible to
facilitate new pathways for acquiring knowledge about the development, evolution,
function, disease and environmental context of the skeleton.
New York University College of Dentistry
Saklad Auditorium
345 East 24th Street
New York, NY 10010
Essential oils usually used in aromatherapy
have been found to kill the deadly MRSA bacteria causing increasing numbers of deaths in
hospitals round the world. Researchers at the University of Manchester say they have
identified three essential oils that killed MRSA and E. coli as well as many other
bacteria and fungi within just two minutes of contact. See
Curious about the study, Young Living's
director of Product Formulation did some searching and discovered that two of the oils
used were Melaleuca alternifolia and geranium. (The study abstract mentions patchouli, tea
tree (melaleuca), geranium, and lavender essential oils, plus grapefruit seed extract, but
does not specify if patchouli or lavender is the third oil).
What are essential oils? Oils that are
mentioned in the Bible such as Frankincense, Myrrh, Hyssop as well as Lavender, Basil,
Clove, Thyme, Cypress, Myrtle and a host of others. Young Living Essential Oils help
people maintain healthy lives, general well being and safe home and work environments.
There are products useful to and for men, women, children, pets, pests, the household,
offices, restaurants, nursing homes, spas, many health practitioners and others.
Young Living annually harvests and distills
over 2,000 acres of wild herbs and vegetation, and is one of only a few companies in the
world that are growing from seed, harvesting, distilling, producing, formulating,
packaging, and marketing pure A-grade essential oils.
In the future everyone who is connected to
the electricity grid will be able to upload and download packages of electricity to and
from this network. At least, that is one of the transformations the electricity grid could
undergo. Dutch researcher Jos Meeuwsen (Technical University Eindhoven) developed three
scenarios for the Dutch electricity supply in the year 2050. The starting point is that in
this year, 50% of the consumption will originate from sustainable sources. Due to the
security of supply and the connection with the European market, electricity networks will
always be necessary says Meeuwsen. Further, due to an increasing demand for electricity it
is important to include all possible energy options (including coal and nuclear energy) in
the scenario development. The exact form of future networks will largely depend on the
primary energy mix chosen. In all cases engineers face new and considerable challenges in
the areas of network and system integration and the development and implementation of new
technology. Moreover, in all scenarios the total network capacity must increase.
Small-scale networks will adapt characteristics from the current large-scale networks,
such as the possibility of 'two-way traffic' and the responsibility to maintain a stable
system.
Researchers study potential health
benefits of natural chemicals in muscadine grape seeds
Could some of the natural chemicals found
in plants be powerful enough to improve cardiovascular health? Researchers at Wake Forest
University Baptist Medical Center are conducting the first-ever clinical study to evaluate
the potential cardiovascular health effects of Nature's pearl muscadine grape seed
supplement.
Scientists discover a direct route
from the brain to the immune system
It used to be dogma that the brain was shut
away from the actions of the immune system, shielded from the outside forces of nature.
But that’s not how it is at all. In fact, thanks to the scientific detective work of
Kevin Tracey, MD, it turns out that the brain talks directly to the immune system, sending
commands that control the body’s inflammatory response to infection and autoimmune
diseases.
Mayo Clinic reports possible new
therapy for patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer
Mayo Clinic today reported promising
interim results from a Phase II trial of a new combination therapy for patients with
recurrent ovarian cancer that is resistant to platinum therapy.
Study proposes new theory of how
viruses may contribute to cancer
A study published in the Oct. 24 issue of
PLoS ONE suggests that viruses may contribute to cancer by causing excessive death to
normal cells while promoting the growth of surviving cells with cancerous traits. The
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute researchers suggest that viruses may act as
forces of natural selection by wiping out normal cells that support the replication of
viruses, leaving behind those cells that have acquired defects in their circuitry.
Dr. Hamer’s research began in 1979
after the tragic loss of his son Dirk. Shortly after Dirk’s death, Dr. Hamer was
diagnosed with testicular cancer. Since he had never been seriously ill, he assumed that
the development of his cancer could be directly related to the traumatic event he had
experienced. At that time Dr. Hamer was head internist of a cancer clinic at the
University of Munich, Germany. There he began to systematically study his patients
regarding the causes, development and healing process of their cancers. What he discovered
was revolutionary! Dr. Hamer found that every DISEASE originates from an unexpected shock
experience. He established that such a sudden shock affects not only the psyche, but
impacts at the same time (visible on a brain scan) the part of the brain that corresponds
biologically to the specific trauma. Whether the body responds to the unexpected event
with a tumor growth (cancer), with tissue degeneration, or with functional loss, is
determined by the exact type of conflict shock. So far, Dr. Hamer has been able to confirm
these discoveries with over 40,000 case studies. Since HEALING can only occur after the
conflict has been resolved, German New Medicine therapy focuses on identifying and
resolving the original shock.
A video game designed by McGill University
researchers to help train people to change their perception of social threats and boost
their self-confidence has now been shown to reduce the production of the stress-related
hormone cortisol. The new findings appear in the October issue of the American
Psychological Association's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Quantitative PET imaging finds
early determination of effectiveness of cancer treatment
With positron emission tomography imaging,
seeing is believing: evaluating a patient's response to chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin
lymphoma typically involves visual interpretation of scans of cancer tumors. Researchers
have found that measuring a quantitative index -- one that reflects the reduction of
metabolic activity after chemotherapy first begins -- adds accurate information about
patients' responses to first-line chemotherapy, according to a study in the October issue
of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Moderate to severe chronic liver disease
can be predicted with the use of diffusion-weighted MRI, according to a recent study
conducted by researchers at New York University Medical Center in New York, NY.
Video - How
To Close Every McDonald's in Manhattan
More on mate tea - lower
cholesterol and an international agreement
When a study in her lab showed that mate
tea drinkers saw a significant increase in the activity of an enzyme that raises HDL
cholesterol while lowering LDL cholesterol, University of Illinois scientist Elvira de
Mejia headed for Argentina where mate tea has been used medicinally for centuries. She
returned with a five-year agreement with administrators of La Universidad Nacional de
Misiones to cooperate in the study of 84 genotypes of mate tea.
The air contains greenhouse gases such as
CO2, which are now known to be responsible for global warming because their concentration
has risen continu-ously for a number of years. In contrast to the atmosphere, the
concentration of CO2 in the oceans is sixty times higher. In the global carbon cycle the
sea ab-sorbs a proportion of the atmospheric CO2 but also releases CO2 into the
at-mosphere again. About half of the anthropogenic emission of CO2 is absorbed naturally
by the oceans. Thus it is all the more important to understand how the exchange of CO2
between the ocean and the atmosphere functions with regard to a world that is warming up.
The newly available study shows that the ocean was able to store more CO2 during the ice
age than it can today.
Mayo Clinic Proceedings article
explores possible link between obesity and viral infections
Experts don't dispute the important role
that diet and activity play in maintaining a healthy weight. But can poor eating habits
and a less active lifestyle fully explain the prevalence of obesity in the US today? That
question has led some researchers to ask whether there might be other causes for this
serious problem.
Video - Do we
have the right to patent plants and other lifeforms?
3 out of 4 hospital patients suffer
from malnutrition regardless of their pathology
A study conducted in the Department of
Nutrition and Bromatology at the University of Granada has found that, although hospitals
have resources to prevent malnutrition, the pathology itself and the inappropriate use of
hospital resources cause patients to be undernourished. The study, which was carried out
in a total of 817 patients from the hospital Virgen de las Nieves, showed that each
patient admitted cost an average between 3,500 € and 6,500 € to the public
administration.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins'
McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine today are releasing newly generated genetic
data to help speed autism research. The Hopkins data, coordinated with a similar data
release from the Autism Consortium, aims to help uncover the underlying hereditary factors
and speed the understanding of autism by encouraging scientific collaboration. These data
provide the most detailed look to date at the genetic variation patterns in families with
autism.
Broccoli Sprout-Derived Extract
Protects against Ultraviolet Radiation
A team of Johns Hopkins scientists reports
in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that
humans can be protected against the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation - the
most abundant cancer-causing agent in our environment - by topical application of an
extract of broccoli sprouts.
Common virus may help doctors treat
deadly brain tumors
A common human virus may prove useful in
attacking the deadliest form of brain tumors, according to a study by researchers at
Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center. The researchers said the finding is an
important step in developing a vaccine that can attack the tumors by enlisting the help of
the body's immune system.
Scientists discover how gold eases
pain of arthritis
Scientists at Duke University Medical
Center may have solved the mystery surrounding the healing properties of gold -- a
discovery they say may renew interest in gold salts as a treatment for rheumatoid
arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
Zinc may reduce pneumonia risk in
nursing home elderly
Tufts University researchers report that
maintaining normal serum zinc concentration in the blood may help reduce the risk of
pneumonia development in elderly nursing home residents. Study participants with normal
serum zinc concentrations in their blood reduced their risk of developing pneumonia by
about 50 percent.
More girls than boys are born in some
Canadian communities because airborne pollutants called dioxins can alter normal sex
ratios, even if the source of the pollution is many kilometers away, researchers say.
A study led by researchers from King Saud
bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia showed use of
antibiotics increased risk of breast cancer by 50 to 79 percent, depending upon the number
of prescriptions an individual received during one to 15 years prior to the diagnosis of
the disease.
Economic growth has made carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere increase much faster than expected, as trees and oceans struggle to absorb
the greenhouse gas, scientists said in a study published on Monday.
Genetic factor in AIDS progression
is higher than thought
Variations in two key genes help determine
how swiftly an individual infected with HIV progresses to AIDS, according to a study
published on Sunday in the journal Nature Immunology.
Carbohydrate foods that digest very quickly
such as white bread and white rice are absorbed very quickly in the body. Excessive
consumption of such foods however creates a build-up of fat overtime around the liver,
slowly killing it.
After elemental mercury from amalgam
fillings is inhaled or ingested, it is converted to methyl mercury, the organic form of
mercury. Methyl mercury, because it easily crosses the blood-brain barrier, has been
associated with neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis,
and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is important to mention that as toxic as elemental
mercury is, methyl mercury is 100 times more toxic!
the American Cancer Society delays
embracing the life-saving Pap smear for 15 years - in part because doctors don't want to
share slide-reading revenue with mere technicians. So the Kettering laboratories at the
University of Cincinnati delve into workplace exposures to lead and other cancer-causing
chemicals but keep the results buried permanently as "trade secrets." So the
door revolves furiously "of cancer researchers in and out of cancer-causing
industries."
France - Paris : ICM, Institute for
Cerebral and Medullary Disorders
Born out of the collaboration of three
world-renowned professors, Professor Gérard Saillant, an orthopedist and tramatologist,
Yves Agid and Olivier Lyon- Caen, neurlogists, and with the support of Luc Besson, Louis
Camilleri, Jean Glavany, Maurice Lévy, Jean-Pierre Martel, Max Mosley, Michael
Schumacher, Jean Todt and Serge Weinberg, the Institute for Cerebral and Medullary
Disorders - or ICM - is a planned international scientific center of excellence, which
will make it possible to study the mechanisms of neurological conditions (such as
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple
sclerosis, epilepsy, and strokes, etc.) psychiatric conditions, (reactional depression,
psychoses, schizophrenia, etc.), and trauma to the brain and spinal cord and the resulting
treatments.
Laboratory experiments have previously
shown that cancer cells overproduce an enzyme, heparanase, which splits the body's own
polysaccharide heparan sulfate into shorter fragments. The amount of enzyme is related to
the degree of malignancy. Today a study is being published in the journal Nature Chemical
Biology in which Uppsala University researchers show, on the basis of animal models, that
an inhibitor for heparanase would be extremely interesting as a drug candidate.
Video - EU Week Ahead; week
starting Monday 22 October
Scientists uncover how hormones
achieve their effects
New insights into the cellular signal chain
through which pheromones stimulate mating in yeast have been gained by scientists at the
European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Similar signal chains are found in humans, where
they are involved in many important processes such as the differentiation of nerve cells
and the development of cancer. A sophisticated microscopy technique allowed the
researchers to observe for the first time the interplay of signalling molecules in living
yeast cells.
Air pollution is becoming one of the
biggest dangers for the future of the planet, causing premature deaths of humans and
damaging flora and fauna. With their vantage point from space, satellites are the only way
to carry out effective global measurements of air-polluting emissions and their
transboundary movement.
Video - Sunshine Coast Watershed -
protect WATER source ecosystems NOW
Summer/ fall 2007; The logging of a watershed
on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada is protested on many levels. With clips of
... all » Al Gore, Wally Oppal, Attorney General, the mountain and the people.
Unfortunately the Supreme Court found that there is no "immediate risk" or
"imminent threat" to the drinking water and completely discarded the idea of the
"precautionary principal" in the attempt to issue a "Stop Work Order"
under the Health Act. In all reality, how are the citizens of this community to
"prove ahead of time" that it will effect the amount of water coming from this
exact area.. the following summer? Clear cutting 1500 year old trees is known to be
devastating let alone the fact that this ecosystem provides drinking water to over 23,000
residents.
This is, with much shock to find, not the
only water source ecosystem that is being jeopardized in this Province - I encourage you
to stand up for the right of the world to protect this fresh water source that are the
mountains of "Beautiful British Columbia". Canadian legislature needs a re-write
and Canada needs a reality check for destroying the water that is soooo precious in most
every other part of the world. These forests will take 500 to 600 years to rehabilitate if
ever! It is the most irresponsible action I have ever witnessed. Embarrassed to have this
government and it's practices calling themselves the voice of Canada...
Chewing Gum May Help Reduce
Cravings and Control Appetite
A research study to be presented at the
2007 Annual Scientific Meeting of The Obesity Society, found that chewing gum before an
afternoon snack helped reduce hunger, diminish cravings and promote fullness among
individuals who limit their overall calorie intake. Calorie intake from snacks was
significantly reduced by 25 calories. Overall, this study demonstrates clearly the
benefits of chewing gum and highlights the potential role of chewing gum in appetite
control and weight management.
Penn researchers find emotional
well-being has no influence on cancer survival
Researchers at the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that emotional well-being is not an independent
factor affecting the prognosis of patients with head and neck cancers. This study appears
in the Dec. 1 issue of CANCER.
Excess female to male births in
Canada linked to chronic dioxin exposure
Almost 90 Canadian communities have
experienced a shift in the normal 51:49 ratio of male to female births, so that more girls
than boys are being born, according to two studies in the Oct. 1 issue of ACS'
Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly journal. James Argo, who headed the
research, attributes this so-called "inverted sex ratio" of the residents in
those communities to dioxin air pollutants from oil refineries, paper mills, metal
smelters and other sources. The studies analyzed information in the Environmental Quality
Database (EQDB), an inventory of pollution sources, cancer data, and other factors
developed for Canadian government research on how early exposure to environmental
contaminants affects the health of Canadians. Argo points out that the EQDB enables
researchers to pinpoint the location of 126,000 homes relative to any of about 65 air
pollution sources-types and the occurrence of cancer among residents of those homes. Argo
focused on air pollutants from those sources and the corresponding incidence of cancer
among more than 20,000 residents and 5,000 controls. He identified inverted male sex
ratios, sometimes as profound as 46:54 in almost all of the communities. The ratio
indicated that more females than males were born, a situation that Argo attributed to
chronic exposure of parents to dioxin, based on previous studies. The study "may
represent one of only a few studies explicitly designed to identify the impact of
carcinogens from industrial sources on residents at home," Agro stated.
Bacteria in the intestines can
influence results of drug tests
Bacteria living in the intestines of
laboratory rats - those test tubes on four feet that stand in for humans in a wide range
of research - may influence the results of drug safety and other tests, scientists in
Michigan are reporting. The findings are scheduled for the Dec. 7 issue of ACS' Chemical
Research in Toxicology, a monthly journal. Cynthia M. Rohde and colleagues note growing
recognition of the hidden role of the approximately 100 trillion bacteria that thrive in
the intestines of humans. Studies have shown that this so-called "gut
microflora" can influence the immune system, how the body responds to foods, the
action of drugs, and other functions. Researchers started the new study after noting that
a genetically identical population of rats widely used in laboratory tests had developed
two distinctively different metabolic types. The types involve differences in the way
those animals metabolize, or breakdown, drugs and nutrients. After detailed studies of
substances in the urine of the rats, researchers concluded that the differences result
from differences in the gut microbial populations between the two types. The report
recommends that scientists in the future check lab rat populations for such metabolic
differences due to gut microflora in order to assure accurate results, especially in
experiments to evaluate the safety of new drugs.
Recycling of e-waste in China may
expose mothers, infants to high dioxin levels
With China now the destination for 70
percent of the computers, TVs, cell phones, and other electronic waste (e-waste) recycled
worldwide each year, a new study has concluded that Chinese recycling methods
significantly increase dioxin levels in women and their breast-fed infants. The study is
scheduled for the Nov. 15 issue of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, a
semi-monthly publication. Ming H. Wong and colleagues did one of what they describe as
"very few" studies of dioxin levels among women of child bearing age at an
e-waste recycling site, and compared those levels to women in an area without e-waste
recycling. They analyzed levels of dioxins - compounds linked to cancer, developmental
defects, and other health problems - in samples of breast milk, placenta, and hair.
Samples from the e-waste site showed significantly higher levels of dioxins than those
taken at the reference site. Researchers estimated that the daily intake of infants from 6
months of breast feeding at the recycling site was more than double that of the reference
site. Therefore, this implies that these levels at the recycling site and the reference
site were at least 25 times and 11 times higher, respectively, than the World Health
Organization tolerable daily limit for adults regarding dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs. The
study includes descriptions of recycling methods, which include heating scrap electronic
components over coal fires in the open air
UT rheumatologists discover 2 genes
related to disabling form of arthritis
Work done in part by researchers at the
University of Texas Medical School at Houston has led to the discovery of two genes that
cause ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory and potentially disabling disease. The
findings are published in the Oct. 21 online edition of Nature Genetics, a journal that
emphasizes research on the genetic basis for common and complex diseases.
Major genetic breakthrough for
ankylosing spondylitis brings treatment hope
Research funded by the Wellcome Trust and
the Arthritis Research Campaign has identified two genes implicated in the disease
ankylosing spondylitis, a common disease primarily causing back pain and progressive
stiffness. The research, published online today in Nature Genetics, suggests that a
treatment currently being trialled for Crohn's disease may also be applied to this
disease.
The accumulation of sugar in
neurons may explain the origin of several neurodegenerative diseases
A study published in Nature Neuroscience
demonstrates that the excess of glucose chains induces neuronal death and causes Lafora
disease, a fatal kind of epilepsy that affects adolescents. A phenomenon considered
healthy for cells, such as the accumulation of long chains of glucose (glycogen), which
tissues store for energy purposes, is harmful for neurons. Published in the latest issue
of Nature Neuroscience, this finding has been made by a team of Spanish researchers led by
Joan J. Guinovart, director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona)
and senior professor at the University of Barcelona (UB), and Santiago Rodríguez de
Córdoba, research professor at the Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
(CSIC). This research has been possible thanks to close collaboration between these two
groups, who, in addition, have been assisted by neurobiology expert Eduardo Soriano, who
is also a researcher at IRB Barcelona and senior professor at the UB. The researchers made
the discovery while studying Lafora disease, a rare pathology that causes irreversible
neurodegeneration in adolescents and for which no treatment is available. Lafora disease
generally presents as epileptic seizures between 10 to 17 years of age and later on as
myoclonus (involuntary twitching of the arms and legs). Its evolution is marked by
progressive degeneration of the nervous system which reduces the patient to a terminal
vegetative state ten years after its onset. This disease is inherited from parents who are
carriers of mutations in one of the two genes associated with the pathology. These genes
are called laforin (named after Dr. Lafora) and malin (from the French expression “le
grand mal”, used to refer to epilepsy). The disease is characterized by the
accumulation of abnormal inclusions, known as Lafora bodies, in neurons. The study
describes the function of laforin and malin, explains the origin of Lafora bodies and
identifies how the neurodegenerative process of this disease arises. Joan J. Guinovart,
expert in glycogen metabolism explains, “We have observed that laforin and malin act
jointly as “guardians” of glycogen levels in neurons and are stimulated by the
degradation of the proteins responsible for glucose accumulation. In a situation in which
either of the two genes loses its function, these proteins are not degraded, glycogen
accumulates and thus neurons deteriorate and cell suicide (apoptosis) ensues.
Clinical trial evaluating brain
cancer vaccine is underway at NYU
A clinical trial evaluating a brain cancer
vaccine in patients with newly diagnosed brain cancer has begun at NYU Medical Center. The
study will evaluate the addition of the vaccine following standard therapy with surgery
and chemotherapy in patients with glioblastoma multiforme, a deadly form of brain cancer.
Exposure to sunlight may decrease
risk of advanced breast cancer
by half
A research team from the Northern
California Cancer Center, the University of Southern California, and Wake Forest
University School of Medicine has found that increased exposure to sunlight -- which
increases levels of vitamin D in the body -- may decrease the risk of advanced breast
cancer.
Labels may not be telling the whole
truth about omega-3 inside
When it comes to getting the most
heart-healthy benefits from omega-3, it's best to go straight to the source: salmon, trout
and other fatty fish, algae or fish oil. Otherwise, all you're getting is snake oil -- and
paying more for it.
A Televised, Web-Based Randomised
Trial of an Herbal Remedy (Valerian) for Insomnia
Based on this and previous studies,
valerian appears to be safe, but with modest beneficial effects at most on insomnia
compared to placebo. The combined use of television and the Internet in randomised trials
offers opportunities to answer questions about the effects of health care interventions
and to improve public understanding and use of randomised trials.
According to the study, published in New
Scientist, Harvard researchers found that men who eat just a half of a serving of soy each
day had a sperm count reduced by 40-percent.
Study Suggests FTY720 May Repair MS
Damage By Direct Effect On Brain
FTY720 (fingolimod), an oral
sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonist being developed for multiple sclerosis (MS), acts
directly on the central nervous system (CNS) to reduce disease severity in addition to
peripheral effects on the immune system, according to results from a model of the disease
reported at this week's European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple
Sclerosis congress (Prague, Czech Republic).
Generation Rescue was formed by parents of
children who have been diagnosed with childhood neurological disorders (NDs). Through our
own research and initiative we have discovered a truth that we feel every parent should
know: Autism, Asperger's, ADHD, ADD, PDD-NOS, other learning disabilities are all
environmental illnesses that can be treated through biomedical intervention. An
overwhelming amount of evidence exists in the scientific and medical literature to support
this position, however, the information has been slow to disseminate to the general public
and to those who need it most- parents.
About a third of U.S. adults with arthritis
say the chronic condition — the nation‘s leading cause of disability — has
limited their ability to work, the government said Thursday.
Web site shows videos of autistic
vs. normal behavior as guide
A new Web site offers dozens of video clips
of autistic kids contrasted with unaffected children’s behavior. Some of the
side-by-side differences can make you gasp. Others are more subtle.
Food industry's ethics under
scrutiny over obesity
Marketing junk food to children has to
become socially unacceptable, a leading obesity expert will say today, warning that the
food industry has done too little voluntarily to help avert what a major report this week
will show is a "far worse scenario than even our gloomiest predictions".
The study, conducted by John Moores
University in Liverpool, England, found that changes in blood pressure could be one of the
reasons why afternoon naps are beneficial to cardiovascular function since blood pressure
and heart rates decrease at night during sleep, and lower blood pressure reduces the
strain on the heart and the risk of a fatal heart attack.
Dr. Jerry Kartiznel, who works with
autistic children, believes that the proteins in wheat and dairy wreak havoc on some
children's brains. "Gluten in the body has been theorized to make a morphinelike
substance, and that morphinelike substance … will affect the brain," said
Kartiznel.
Parents, child safety advocates, and
activists protested in front of the West 57th Street headquarters of Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts, which owns part of Toys "R" Us, to call on the buyout firm to adopt a
strict code of conduct for its suppliers to ensure that more toys tainted with lead paint
do not wind up on store shelves.
