Curry may help beat childhood cancer This finding comes from a study into the role diet could play in the
different rates of the disease in Asia and Western countries. Childhood
leukaemia rates in Britain increased dramatically over the last century,
mainly affected under-fives. However, rates are significantly lower in
Asia. Study results were presented this week by researchers from the Loyola
University Medical Centre, Chicago, USA at a childhood leukaemia conference
in London, hosted by the UK charity Children with Leukaemia. Lead researcher Professor Moolky Nagabhushan explains that turmeric is
widely used in Asian cooking. He said: "Our studies show that turmeric - and its colouring principle,
curcumin - in the diet mitigates the effects of some of the risk factors." He has undertaken many studies into how turmeric could protect against
leukaemia, and found that it might reduce the dangers of cigarette smoke
and DNA damage from radiation, and prevent the build-up of harmful compounds
from eating certain processed foods. Another leukaemia study, this time by Dr Marilyn Kwan and colleagues
of the University of California, Berkeley, USA looked at the effects of
food in early life. Dr Kwan says, "We found that regular consumption of oranges and/or
bananas during the first two years of life was associated with a reduced
risk of childhood leukaemia. These findings are consistent with the protective
role of fruits and vegetables observed in adult cancers." The protective value is thought to be due to the high vitamin and mineral
content of oranges and bananas, particularly vitamin C in oranges and
potassium in bananas. MMR safe -latest study Worries over the link have led to a drop in uptake from around 92 per
cent in 1995 to 82 per cent in 2002. Dr Liam Smeeth and colleagues from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine, UK, examined rates of MMR vaccination among children who went
on to develop autism or other disorders, and those that did not. They found no statistically significant differences. Results are published
in this week's Lancet medical journal. Dr Smeeth said today: "We have found no convincing evidence that
MMR vaccination increases the risk of autism or other developmental disorders. "No significant association has been found in rigorous studies in
a range of different settings. "These are severe diseases for which very little is known about
causation; this absence of knowledge itself might have contributed to
the misplaced emphasis on MMR as a cause." Psychologists from Scotland have investigated how parents' beliefs are
linked to uptake of MMR. The researchers, from Queen Margaret University College in Edinburgh,
found that parents who claim to value the findings of research rather
than government and GP advice are nine times less likely to allow their
child to be vaccinated. Dr Chris McVittie, a member of the team, explained: "The strongest
predicter of non-vaccination was the influence of current research, with
parents who rated current research as important nine times less likely
to have their children vaccinated." Further research from Scotland shows that parents who don't take their
children to have the MMR may underrate the seriousness of measles, mumps
and rubella. Researcher Binder Kaur of the University of Stirling said: "Non-immunising
parents accepted their child was at a greater risk of developing the diseases
than other children, but they did not perceive these diseases as serious. "They also thought that the vaccine and its effects were more dangerous
for the child than contracting measles." The findings of the last two studies will be presented this week at the
British Psychological Society's Division of Health Psychology conference
in Edinburgh. Lancet Vol 364(9438) 11-17 September 2004 Stress of daily diary Some health workers and researchers encourage patients to keep diaries
- but new research suggests it may not be good for the health. Diary writers suffer from high levels of anxiety and aches and pains,
according to new research. Those who write their entries and then file them away may cause themselves
enough problems - but serious distress is suffered by those who keep rereading
their accounts of daily traumas and adventures. Psychologists reported their findings to a conference of the British
Psychological Society in Edinburgh yesterday. Researchers Dr Elaine Duncan of Glasgow Caledonian University and Dr
David Sheffield of Staffordshire University questioned 94 diary writers
and compared them with 41 people who did not keep diaries. They found that writers had greater levels of anxiety and also higher
levels of symptoms such as headaches, aches and pains and feeling run
down than non-writers. Dr Duncan said: "These findings are surprising as they run contrary
to existing studies, suggesting the need to do more research of this kind
to test whether writing about stressful experiences is actually good for
you." Electric light link to child cancer? According to one theory, children become vulnerable to magnetic fields
- such as from electricity pylons - because of exposure to artificial
light. Experts put forward the theory at a conference on Childhood Leukaemia,
held in London, UK. Scientists argued that artificial light is known to interfere with the
circadian rhythms of the body - leading to a reduction in levels of melatonin. Professor Russel Reiter, Professor of Cellular and Structural Biology
at the University of Texas, told the conference: "As an anti oxidant,
in many studies melatonin has been shown to protect DNA from oxidative
damage. Once damaged, DNA may mutate and carcinogenesis may occur." He added: "If, in fact, melatonin levels are altered by magnetic
fields, a potential relationship between these fields and cancer, including
leukaemia, would be possible." And Professor Russell Foster, of Imperial College, London, said: "Embedded
within the genes of us, and almost all life on earth, are the instructions
for a biological clock that marks the passage of approximately 24 hours. "Until we turned our nights into days, and began to travel in aircraft
across multiple time zones, we were largely unaware of these internal
clocks. "These clocks drive or alter our sleep patterns, alertness, mood,
physical strength, blood pressure and every other aspect of our physiology
and behaviour." Weight, fitness, diabetes and the heart A study of people with type 2 - or late onset - diabetes found that obesity
is closely linked to the illness. But another study, of heart disease, found that activity and fitness
are more directly related to the illness than losing weight. Both studies were reported in the Journal of the American Medical Assocation. Nearly 38,000 women took part in the diabetes study led by Dr Amy Weinstein,
of the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The study found that physical activity helped to reduce the risk of develop
diabetes - but losing weight made a massive difference. The study of heart disease involved more than 900 women undergoing investigative
procedures for suspected heart disease. Researchers kept track of the women to see if they had heart attacks
or developed other symptoms - and found that this was least likely to
happen to women who kept fit. They could find no direct connection between the weight of the women
and their risk of having a heart attack. Researcher Dr Bairey Merz, of the Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles,
USA, said: "Because physical fitness has beneficial effects on many
factors related to cardiovascular risk – including obesity –
increased activity appears to be an ideal therapy for women with coronary
heart disease. "Physical fitness assessment and intervention should be included
in the management of all women at risk for heart disease." JAMA. 2004; 292:1188-1194, 1232-1233, 1179- 1187 Warning against herbs According to Professor Peter Houghton, of King's College, London, many
people believe herbs are safe because they are natural. In fact, he said, some plants may contain toxic material. Speaking to the British Association Festival of Science, Professor Houghton,
a professor of pharmacognosy, said herbs tended to encourage people to
diagnose and treat their own illnesses - placing themselves at risk of
getting it wrong. He said: "Patients should buy herbal medicines from somewhere where
they can receive health advice from a professional, such as a pharmacist." He added: "A large amount of risk associated with these situations
can be reduced by checking the identity and composition of the herb by
scientific methods." The professor told festival goers: "Although your risk of dying
from taking a herbal remedy is extremely small, some do interact with
other medicines with serious consequences. "For instance, St John’s Wort makes many prescription drugs
used to treat conditions such as heart disease, depression, seizures,
certain cancers or to prevent conditions such as transplant rejection
or pregnancy (oral contraceptives) less effective." Last week British regulators urged the public to beware of traditional
Chinese medicines after uncovering evidence of widespread contamination
with substances such as mercury. Compulsory vaccination against bioterrorism? A vaccine expert writing in this week's British Medical Journal argues
against the compulsory use of vaccines to prevent the effects of a bioterrorist
attack. In his editorial, Dr Tom Jefferson, co-ordinator of the Cochrane Vaccines
Field and former UK GP, writes that the suggestion is based on an unproved
threat. Dr Jefferson said the US began a compulsory anthrax vaccination programme
for 2.4 million military personnel in 1997. And in 2002, a similar programme
involving civilians as well was started against smallpox. He warned: "These programmes rely on old vaccines for which relatively
few data exist. "Mass use of both vaccines in an antiterrorist role is justified
only in the presence of a credible threat - the capacity to produce and
deliver large quantities to susceptible populations, and the will to carry
out such an action," he writes. He goes on to say that no large scale trial of the US anthrax vaccine
(AVA) has ever been conducted, and trials of the current smallpox vaccine
have recently been halted because of safety concerns. "Although field trials are expensive and complex, investment in
evaluation and in better and safer vaccines surely must be a requisite
to have credible compulsory immunisation programmes involving huge numbers
of adults of reproductive age," adds the author. "Until such time, the choice of whether to be vaccinated or not
should be left to the individual." BMJ Volume 329, pp 524-5 Conference explores child leukaemia mystery The two day conference in London is set to explore theories about the
rising incidence of leukaemia. These include theories about changes in the modern environment - such
as increasing levels of radiation - as well as more technical medical
theories. Professor Michael Coleman, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine, was set to tell the conference that improved treatment and survival
rates have masked growing rates of disease. He said: "The marked disparity between incidence and mortality trends
crystallises the problem posed by childhood leukaemia from a public health
standpoint: we have become steadily better at treating it – at least
in the sense of preventing children dying from it – but we have
made little or no progress in preventing it. "Rational approaches to prevention are difficult to formulate when
so little is known about the cause." He said one theory was that improved survival of infants had led to vulnerable
children surviving. The conference has been organised by a charity, Children with Leukaemia. Conference chairman Professor Denis Henshaw, said: "If the increased
risk facing today’s children is at least partly caused by modern
lifestyle factors, as is suggested by the increasing incidence, then it
may be possible to take some preventive measures. But, first we need to
determine what these factors are."
Last Week
Contents Need
News for Your Site?
FRIDAY
September 10 - New research suggests that turmeric, the spice which makes
curry yellow, could offer protection against childhood leukaemia.
FRIDAY
September 10 - The latest research on the MMR vaccine adds to the evidence
that it does not increase risk of autism or other childhood disorders.
THURSDAY
Books
on Mental Health
September 9 - Pepys started it all but as anybody who has tried knows
- keeping a daily diary is quite a commitment.
THURSDAY
September 9 - Street lighting, electricity and late nights may all have
contributed to rising rates of childhood leukaemia, according to a controversial
new theory unveiled yesterday.
WEDNESDAY
Books on
Diabetes
September 8 - Weight is more directly related to the development of diabetes
than inactivity - while the reverse applies to heart disease, according
to two major studies reported last night.
TUESDAY
September 7 - An expert has warned that widespread use of herbal medicines
is putting thousands of people at risk.
MONDAY
September 6 - Anti-terror vaccination programmes may be risky because
the treatments do not meet modern standards, an expert has warned.
MONDAY
September 6 - Rates of childhood leukaemia are rising - and the cause
is a mystery, a conference will be told today.
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