Breast cancer risk tied to HRT evident across race
Postmenopausal hormone therapy with estrogen or estrogen-progestin is associated with an increase in breast cancer risk across ethnic groups, new research indicates.
Previous studies have indicated that menopausal estrogen-progestin therapy increases the risk of breast cancer, but it is unclear whether this association varies by specific prognostic factors and ethnicity.
“Findings from our study are consistent with previous literature of an association between hormone therapy use in breast cancer, in particular, an increase in risk associated with current estrogen-progestin therapy use,” Dr. Malcolm Pike from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and colleagues write in the International Journal of Cancer.
Oral agent alendronate may help men with prostate cancer suffering from bone loss
Men with prostate cancer who experience bone loss from cancer treatment could benefit from a weekly oral therapy commonly given to women with osteoporosis, according to a study presented by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Prostate Cancer Symposium, Feb. 24 to 26 at the San Francisco Marriott.
“In previous studies, we have determined that men who receive androgen deprivation therapy, a frequently used treatment for prostate cancer, suffer from severe drops in bone mass and are at an increased risk for fracture,” said study principal investigator Susan Greenspan, M.D., professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh and director, Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center, UPMC. “In an attempt to mitigate these effects, we gave men using this therapy a once-weekly oral agent called alendronate that is commonly used to treat osteoporosis. We found that men who received it had significantly increased bone mass compared to those who did not receive the therapy.”
The study included 112 men with prostate cancer with an average age of 71. After an average of two years androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer, only 9 percent of the men had normal bone mass, while 52 percent had low bone mass and 39 percent developed osteoporosis. To study the effect of alendronate on these men, they were randomized into two groups to receive either alendronate once a week through an orally administered pill or a placebo. At one year follow-up, bone mass in the spine and hip increased significantly in the men treated with alendronate, 4.9 percent and 2.1 percent respectively. By comparison, men in the placebo group had significant losses of bone mass in the spine and hip, 1.3 percent and .7 percent respectively. In addition, the therapy was well-tolerated and easily administered.
Minister says UK prepared to face bird flu
Britain’s farm and environment minister Margaret Beckett said on Monday that the country is well prepared to react swiftly to any outbreak of deadly bird flu.
The spread of the killer H5N1 virus across Europe to France took centre stage at this week’s National Farmers’ Union annual conference, more than doubling media attendance from last year.
Both NFU president Tim Bennett and Beckett warned that the poultry sector could be destroyed by media “scaremongering” about the disease.
Study shows survival advantage for men treated with radical prostatectomy
A new study shows older men with early stage prostate cancer survive longer if they are treated versus not being treated in favor of the “watchful waiting” approach advocated by many physicians for older men with other health problems.
In addition, the study revealed a survival benefit for men treated with radiation therapy making it the first study to demonstrate a survival advantage in an older population.
Significant advance in our understanding of how sound is encoded for transmission to the brain
Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have discovered that our ears use the most efficient way to process the sounds we hear, from babbling brooks to wailing babies.
These results represent a significant advance in our understanding of how sound is encoded for transmission to the brain, according to the authors, whose work is published with an accompanying “News and Views” editorial in the Feb. 23 issue of Nature.
Scientists can now predict memory of an event before it even happens
Scientists can now predict memory of an event before it even happens. A team at UCL (University College London) can now tell how well memory will serve us before we have seen what we will remember.
Scans of brain activity, published online in the journal Nature Neuroscience, indicate that the brain can actually get into the ‘right frame of mind’ to store new information and that we perform at our best if the brain is active not only at the moment we get new information but also in the seconds before.
Taste genes may yield important information about who smokes and why they smoke
Recent research on the genetics of smoking has focused on genes that are thought to be related to nicotine metabolism, personality traits, and regulation of emotions.
According to a genetic study just published in “Nicotine and Tobacco Research,” genes responsible for taste also may yield important information about who smokes and why they smoke.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Utah wanted to determine if a “bitterness” gene-phenylthiocarbamide (PTC)-was related to smoking status and how important the taste of cigarettes is to a smoker. As predicted, those smokers who possessed less sensitivity to bitter taste were more likely to rate taste as a strong reason for smoking, and those who were sensitive to bitter taste were less likely to smoke for taste.
Teatments based on behaviour could reduce prescription drug use
New psychological treatments - behavioural medicine - could significantly reduce the need for drug treatments for some conditions, cutting health system costs says an editorial in this week’s British Medical Journal.
Behavioural medicine - using treatments borrowed from psychology such as cognitive behavioural therapy - has the potential to reduce pain, argue the authors. Treating a patient with a system of behavioural instructions before surgery, for instance, can lower the amount of anaesthetic required during the operation, and cut the time they need to stay in hospital.
Anabolic Steroids Flip the Adolescent Brain’s Switch for Aggressive Behavior
Anabolic steroids not only make teens more aggressive, but may keep them that way into young adulthood. The effect ultimately wears off but there may be other, lasting consequences for the developing brain. These findings, published in February’s Behavioral Neuroscience, also showed that aggression rose and fell in synch with neurotransmitter levels in the brain’s aggression control region. Behavioral Neuroscience is published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
Neuroscientists are deeply concerned about rising adolescent abuse of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs), given the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s estimate that nearly half a million eighth- and 10th-grade students abuse AASs each year. Not only do steroids set kids up for heavier use of steroids and other drugs later in life, but long-term users can suffer from mood swings, hallucinations and paranoia; liver damage; high blood pressure; as well as increased risk of heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer. Withdrawal often brings depression, and recent research suggests that some AASs may even be habit-forming.
