— Early sign of Alzheimer's reversed in lab — One of the earliest known impairments caused by Alzheimer's disease - loss of sense of smell - can be restored by removing a plaque-forming protein in a mouse model of the disease,…
— Parental controls on embryonic development? — When a sperm fertilises an egg, each contributes a set of chromosomes to the resulting embryo, which at these very early stages is called a zygote. Early on, zygotic genes are inert,…
— Newly discovered heart stem cells make muscle and bone — Researchers have identified a new and relatively abundant pool of stem cells in the heart. The findings in the December issue of Cell Stem Cell, a Cell Press publication, show that…
— BUSM researchers develop blood test to detect membranous nephropathy — Research conducted by a pair of physicians at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Centre (BMC) has led to the development of a test that can help diagnose…
— New hip implants no better than traditional implants — New hip implants appear to have no advantage over traditional implants, suggests a review of the evidence published on bmj.com today…
— Action needed to improve men's health in Europe — Policies aimed specifically at men are urgently needed to improve the health of Europe's men, say experts on bmj.com today…
— Probiotics reduce infections for patients in intensive care — Traumatic brain injury is associated with a profound suppression of the patient's ability to fight infection. At the same time the patient also often suffers hyper-inflammation, due…
— High blood sugar levels in older women linked to colorectal cancer — Elevated blood sugar levels are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.…
— Engineered botulism toxins could have broader role in medicine — The most poisonous substance on Earth - already used medically in small doses to treat certain nerve disorders and facial wrinkles - could be re-engineered for an expanded role in helping…
Strawberries may slow precancerous growth in oesophagus
Freeze-dried strawberries may be an alternative to drugs for the prevention of oesophageal cancer, according to research presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.
'We concluded from this study that six months of eating strawberries is safe and easy to consume. In addition, our preliminary data suggests that strawberries can decrease histological grade of precancerous lesions and reduce cancer-related molecular events,' said lead researcher Tong Chen, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, division of medical oncology, department of internal medicine at The Ohio State University. She is also a member of the Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program in The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
Oesophageal cancer is the third most common gastrointestinal cancer and the sixth most frequent cause of cancer death in the world, she said. Chen and her team are studying oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) which makes up 95 percent of cases of oesophageal cancer worldwide. China, where this study took place, has the highest incidence of oesophageal SCC.
In a previous study, Chen and colleagues found that freeze-dried strawberries significantly inhibited tumour development in the oesophagus of rats. Based on these results, they embarked on a Phase Ib trial that included participants with oesophageal precancerous lesions who were at high risk for oesophageal cancer.
Participants consumed 60 grams of freeze-dried strawberries daily for six months and completed a dietary diary chronicling their strawberry consumption. Using freeze-dried strawberries was important because by removing the water from the berries, they concentrated the preventive substances by nearly 10-fold, Chen said.
The researchers obtained biopsy specimens before and after strawberry consumption. The results showed that 29 out of 36 participants experienced a decrease in histological grade of the precancerous lesions during the study.
'Our study is important because it shows that strawberries may slow the progression of precancerous lesion in the oesophagus. Strawberries may be an alternative or work together with other chemopreventive drugs for the prevention of oesophageal cancer. But, we will need to test this in randomised placebo-controlled trials in the future,' said Chen.
Or subscribe for our Newsletter, a free e-mail publication. It is published practically every day.
Cardiac patients trial home-based rehabilitation
Health undervalued in reproductive rights debate
Decision support service offers assistance in diagnosing paediatric mental health issues
Researchers clone key sperm-binding proteins