Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles
Benefits Of Grapefruit

Young Adults Not Drinking Enough Milk
Calcium and dairy products play major roles in health maintenance and the prevention of chronic disease. Because peak bone mass is not achieved until the third decade of life, it is particularly important for young adults to consume adequate amounts of calcium, protein and vitamin D found in dairy products to support health and prevent osteoporosis later in life. In a study in the July/August issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, researchers report that young people actually reduce their intake of calcium and dairy products as they enter their twenties.
generic viagra online
La. Gov. Jindal Signs Law Expanding Protections For Health Workers Who Refuse Services
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) on Tuesday signed into law a bill (HB 517) that expands health care provider "conscience" protections beyond abortion to also include refusals to provide emergency contraception or participate in certain other procedures, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The law provides job protection and legal immunity to "any person" who refuses to provide abortion services, distribute "abortifacient drugs," work on research involving embryonic stem cells or cloning, or participate in physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia. According to the Times-Picayune, the provision that refers to abortifacient drugs is intended to include EC but not other forms of birth control.Jindal"s administration said the law is necessary to protect the individual rights of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care workers whose personal beliefs might conflict with their professional duties. Opponents of the law, including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the American Civil Liberties Union, argue that it will restrict patient access to accurate information and timely services (Barrow/Anderson, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 7/8).
News of the day
Increased HIV Risk To Black Gay Men
Black gay men have less choice when it comes to sexual partners than other groups and, as a result, their sexual networks are closely knit. These tightly interconnected networks make the rapid spread of HIV more likely. In a study1) looking at social and sexual mixing between ethnic groups in men who have sex with men, H. Fisher Raymond and Willi McFarland, from the San Francisco Department of Public Health in the US, show that social barriers faced by Black gay men may have a serious impact on their health and well-being. Their findings are published in Springer"s journal AIDS and Behavior.
Nutrition

Dual Role In Breast Tissue For A Protein Involved In Leukemia

A protein known to play a role in growth of some types of leukemia appears to have a mixed function in breast cancer development, say researchers from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC). The findings, presented at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Washington, DC, indicate that the function of this protein, known as Stat5a, may be different in developing breast cancer cells that are estrogen receptor-positive as compared to estrogen receptor-negative. When estrogen receptor levels were overexpressed, loss of Stat5a reduced development of a lobular type of preneoplasia. However, when estrogen receptor levels were normal, loss of Stat5a not only had no effect on reducing preneoplasia, but increased susceptibility to carcinogen-induced breast cancer. The results illustrate the importance of breast cancer heterogeneity when testing new therapeutic targets. The researchers say Stat5a could be a target for treatment of leukemia, but add, "If Stat5a is to be used as a drug target for leukemia or other cancers, it is important to fully understand how altering its function impacts the breast, especially since it appears it may play different roles in different types of breast cancer," says the study"s lead author, Anne Miermont, MS, a doctoral graduate student in tumor biology at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stat5a is a member of the STAT family of proteins, which are key to regulating cell growth and differentiation. Because they have been found to be over-expressed in leukemia, Miermont and Priscilla Furth, MD, a professor of oncology, sought to see if they were important in breast cancer development. Estrogen receptors are over-expressed in more than half of human breast cancers, so the investigators set up studies to test if the function of Stat5a was the same or different in cells with estrogen receptor overexpression. They found that Stat5a A is rather "two-faced" when it comes to its role in breast tissue. Previous studies had shown that mice born without the gene produce breast cells that are a little less differentiated than they should be, meaning that they are not fully developed enough to participate in milk production. Miermont found that when the animals were exposed to a cancer-causing chemical, they were more likely to develop breast cancer than mice with intact Stat5a genes. At the same time, however, Miermont found that when estrogen receptor was over-expressed, Stat5a collaborated with it to promote growth of a type of precancerous lesion of the breast termed a hyperplastic alveolar nodule. "Our studies in in vivo mouse models illustrate a dual role for the Stat5a protein in breast tissue. While it can contribute to the growth of one type of precancerous lesion in the breast, this protein also appears to protects mammary cells from carcinogenic exposure," says Miermont. These findings need to be validated and expanded, Furth says, but she adds that "while Stat5a is obviously a complicated protein that has many functions, the results underscore the need to specifically understand the mechanisms that regulate its different roles in breast cells and how changes in Stat5a activity may affect different types of breast cancer generation." The National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program funded the study. Miermont and Furth report no related financial interests. Karen Mallet Georgetown University Medical Center


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009