Fruits, Vegetables, Teas May Protect Smokers From Lung Cancer

Tobacco smokers who eat three servings of fruits and vegetables per day and drink green or black tea may be protecting themselves from lung cancer, according to a first-of-its-kind study by UCLA cancer researchers.
UCLA researchers found that smokers who ingested high levels of natural chemicals called flavonoids in their diet had a lower risk of developing lung cancer – an important finding, since more than 90 percent of lung cancers are caused by tobacco smoking.
The study appeared this month in the peer-reviewed journal CANCER, published by the American Cancer Society.
"What we found was extremely interesting, that several types of flavonoids are associated with a reduced risk of lung cancer among smokers," said Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, a researcher at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center and a professor of public health and epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health. "The findings were especially interesting because tobacco smoking is the major risk factor for lung cancer."
Flavonoids are water-soluble plant pigments that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, both of which can counteract damage to tissues. For the UCLA study, researchers looked at 558 people with lung cancer and 837 people who did not have lung cancer and analyzed their dietary history.
Researchers found that study participants who ate foods containing certain flavonoids seemed to be protected from developing lung cancer. Zhang said the flavonoids that appeared to be the most protective included catechin, found in strawberries and green and black teas; kaempferol, found in Brussels sprouts and apples; and quercetin, found in beans, onions and apples.
So should smokers run out and stock up on the teas, apples, beans and strawberries? Quitting smoking is the best course of action, Zhang said, but eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more black and green teas won’t hurt.
"Since this study is the first of its type, I would usually be hesitant to make any recommendations to people about their diet," Zhang said. "We really need to have several larger studies with similar results to confirm our finding. However, it’s not a bad idea for everyone to eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more tea."
Zhang said flavonoids may protect against lung cancer by blocking the formation of blood vessels that tumors develop so they can grow and spread, a process called angiogenesis. They also may stop cancer cells from growing, allowing for naturally programmed cell death, or apoptosis, to occur.
The antioxidant properties found in the flavonoids also may work to counteract the DNA-damaging effects of tobacco smoking, Zhang said, explaining why they affected the development of lung cancer in smokers but not in nonsmokers.
"The naturally occurring chemicals may be working to reduce the damage caused by smoking," Zhang said.
The next step in research, Zhang said, involves laboratory-based studies of flavonoids on cell lines and animal models to determine how they are protecting smokers from developing lung cancer. And in addition to larger studies to confirm these findings, other studies need to be done to see if the protective effects of flavonoids extend to other smoking-related cancers, such as bladder, head and neck, and kidney cancers.
Zhang and his team also plan to study which types of fruits and vegetables have the highest levels of the flavonoids found to be helpful in this study and what the optimal number of servings per day might be to provide the greatest protection.

Celebrities Crossing the Line on Medical Advice

Jenny McCarthy tells the public to stop vaccines as it can contribute to autism, while Brooke Shields speaks out about postpartum depression and Michael J. Fox shares his struggle with Parkinson's disease and the need for stem cell research. Doctors and researchers are acknowledging that people are paying attention to these celebrities.
It helps people to realize that health problems they have affect even celebrities," says pediatrician Aaron Carroll, director of Indiana University's Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research. "Knowing that a rich and famous person can have the same problem as you or me makes it seem more fair, maybe.” Carroll continues, "It also can make it easier to talk about your own problem, because a celebrity has the same issue."
The concern comes from celebrities need to get their facts right, says Bradford Hesse, who studies health communication at the National Cancer Institute. Many doctors and medical experts are very troubled by stars who cross the line from sharing their stories to championing questionable or even dangerous medical advice.
In 2005 Scientologist and actor publically railed against antidepressants and Brook Shields for sharing she had postpartum depression. He dismissed psychiatry as a "pseudoscience." Actress Jenny McCarthy, who has an autistic son, has publically linked autism with childhood vaccinations.
Doctors and public health groups say they struggle over the best way to respond to celebrity claims. Celebrities have the power to do tremendous good, Hesse says. Lance Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer, has advocated for funding and policy changes to help cancer patients and has raised more than $325 million through his foundation.
"People like Katie Couric and Lance Armstrong can do a lot to teach people that it is important to talk to their doctors about screening for cancer," Hesse says. "Some would say they have done more for the cause of public awareness for cancer than most scientists."
Still the medical community is concerned about misinformation and trying to correct that misinformation. “Even with a mountain of evidence it can be a challenge,” says Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "It's much easier to scare people than to un-scare them," Offit says.
Some psychologists say that celebrity activists are part of a larger trend, in which survivors of serious illness feel less of a stigma about speaking out and find it therapeutic to help others in a similar situation. "Giving to other people has a profound way of rewarding us," says the NCI's Julia Rowland. "It's a way to make meaning out of a situation.” She says, “You tell other people how to cope, and it helps you cope, too."
"If someone has a heartfelt belief that something ought to be on the radar screen of America, they ought to put it out there, because believe me, other people are saying it anyway," says Mehmet Oz, a heart surgeon and host of The Dr. Oz Show. "I'd rather have it come up publicly and have Larry King have a debate about it." Studies have shown that doctors still have an influence on people. About 68% of people trust their doctors according to a 2007 survey by the NCI, however, it seems like people are placing some of their trust in celebrities when it comes down to medical advice.

Genetic Variants Linked To Distinct Treatment Responses For Smoking Cessation

Scientists have identified distinct clusters of genetic markers associated with the likelihood of success or failure of two smoking cessation treatments, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and the medication bupropion (Zyban). This study, supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was published in the June issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.
“We have long known that smoking cessation treatments that help some people fail to help others, says NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow. “These findings shed light on the genetic variations that underlie these differences in treatment response, and this knowledge may help make it possible to match smokers with the type or intensity of smoking cessation treatment most likely to benefit them.
Researchers used a technique known as genome-wide association scans to compare DNA extracted from the blood of smokers who were either successful or unsuccessful in quitting using bupropion or various forms of NRT (e.g., nicotine patch or nasal spray). They identified clusters of gene variants that were present more frequently in the successful quitters. Interestingly, the variants were different in those who were successfully treated with bupropion than in those who were helped by NRT. For example, a cluster of genes which regulates the body’s ability to process bupropion was associated with success on bupropion therapy — but not NRT. The roles of other genes identified in this study, including several expressed in brain regions important to learning and memory, are not as well understood. These genes may be new targets for future research into smoking cessation medications.
The study was led by Dr. George R. Uhl, chief of NIDA’s molecular neurobiology research branch in Baltimore, MD, and coauthored by Caryn Lerman (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA), Jed Rose (Duke University, Durham, NC), and from Brown University, Ray Niaura (Butler Hospital, Providence, RI), and Sean David (Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Pawtucket, RI). “Our results provide the first genome-wide evidence that the genetics of successful smoking cessation with bupropion are different from the genetics of successful smoking cessation with NRT," says Dr. Uhl. “These findings suggest that we may be able to improve the success rate for smoking cessation by using results of simple DNA tests."
The research is part of NIDA’s ongoing commitment to using genome wide association studies to help develop more targeted prevention and treatment strategies for addiction. For example, in another study, also published in the Archives of General Psychiatry in March, Uhl’s team identified for the first time clusters of genetic variants associated with vulnerability to methamphetamine dependence, showing that many of the same genetic variants underlie addiction to multiple drugs of abuse. The findings suggested that addictions share common underlying genetic vulnerabilities, providing new insights into the nature of addiction and suggesting novel approaches to the treatment of addiction and the prevention of relapse.

Haiti Earthquake Disastrous for Already Dire Health Conditions

An earthquake can be disastrous to any country, but for Haiti, where 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and health conditions are among some of the worst in the world, the natural disaster will likely bring unimaginable problems.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and according to USAID, an independent federal government agency that extends assistance to countries recovering from disaster, Haiti has the highest per capita tuberculosis (TB) burden in the Caribbean and Latin American region. Tuberculosis is second only to HIV/AIDS as the country’s greatest infectious cause of mortality. Diarrhea, malaria, and respiratory diseases are also other main causes of death. Haiti also has the highest rates of infant, under-five, and maternal mortality in the Western hemisphere, according to UNICEF.
High rates of disease associated with intestinal worms, such as ascaris, trichuris, and hookworm, also plague Haiti. These worms cause anemia, stunted growth, malnutrition, and impaired physical and cognitive development. The dire state of the water and sanitation infrastructure in Haiti are a main cause of these diseases, which prompted a recent effort to tackle these problems using grants by Spain and the Inter-American Development Bank, according to a news release from the latter in October 2009.
The campaign had hoped to improve the status of both maternal and child health and survival through sustainable improvement in hygiene behaviors and sanitation projects. Intestinal worm infections are among the most common afflictions of the world’s poorest people, and Haiti fits the bill. The earthquake has put a whole new face and urgency to this project. In fact, with Haiti’s water supply destroyed and with earthquake survivors forced to crowd together with no sanitation system, any existing water could rapidly become contaminated, leading to a spread of water-borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
Before the earthquake, Haiti’s few hospitals and clinics were already stretched beyond capacity and provided poor care. Doctors Without Borders (also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), which offered free health care at three clinics in Port-au-Prince, the main site of the earthquake, said in a recent CNN article that basic health services in the city were nearly non-existent, the result of mismanagement, shortages of medical personnel and supplies, and strikes. Because the public health system has been in such disarray, patients often have nowhere else to turn but to the free clinics. The free clinics are also the only hope for most Haitians because the majority live in poverty and they cannot afford to pay the fees charged by the private health care sector.
According to the New York Times, Doctors Without Borders found two public hospitals in good condition following the earthquake. It is still uncertain how many other medical facilities are left standing or even if they are safe enough to occupy. Regardless of how many hospital or clinics still exist in Haiti, the truth is that the country’s dire health conditions have gone from bad to unimaginably worse. If there can be one bright spot in this whole situation, that might be that what arises from this earthquake disaster in the future will be a new, effective, and well-managed health care system and facilities that will be capable of addressing the needs of the Haitian people and show them the basics of good nutrition, sanitation, and health care for themselves and their families.