7/10/05
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are unraveling the
biochemical mechanism by which functional foods combat cancer.
"Compounds like sulforaphane in broccoli and resveratrol in wine have
been shown to prevent cancer," said Andrew Mesecar, associate professor
of pharmaceutical biotechnology in the UIC College of Pharmacy.
"They do that by signaling our bodies to ramp up the production of
proteins capable of preventing damage to our DNA.
"We now have a good idea how that signal works."
The findings are published in this week's Early Edition of the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences.
Two key proteins, Keap1 and Nrf2, are involved in spurring the defense
against cancer when disease-preventing foods are ingested, according
to Mesecar and post-doctoral researcher Aimee Eggler. Keap1,
the sensor protein, detects the presence of dietary compounds
like sulforaphane when they link with its cysteine residues,
one of the amino acids that make up proteins. Keap1 binds to Nrf2,
the messenger that turns on the genes for the protective proteins,
averting DNA damage.
"Earlier studies in mice suggested that natural cancer-preventing
compounds worked by severing the tie between Keap1 and Nrf2,
freeing Nrf2 to take action," Mesecar said. "But the signaling
doesn't happen this way in humans."
The scientists found that in humans the connection between
the two proteins is not broken.
What's important, the researchers said, is the modification
of cysteines in Keap1. They found that one particular cysteine
was among the most likely to be altered in the interaction
with cancer-preventing compounds.
That finding corresponded with results from other researchers.
As a result, the scientists are proposing that the alteration
of just this one amino acid in Keap1 is the critical step that
spurs higher levels of the messenger Nrf2 and, consequently,
increased production of the protective proteins.
Keap1 is a promising new target for drugs to fight many
different kinds of cancer, Mesecar said.
The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be over
1.3 million new cases of cancer in 2005, and roughly half of
these individuals will not survive their disease,
Mesecar noted. "One way of preventing cancer may be
to eat certain foods rich in cancer-preventing compounds.
An alternative is identifying how these compounds work and
replicating their modes of action with drugs."
3/28/05
The fools on the hill
"Well on his way, his head in a cloud,
The man of a thousand voices, talking perfectly loud.
But nobody ever hears him,
Or the sound he appears to make.
And he never seems to notice .....
But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around." ..Lennon/McCartney
I watched the Schiavo debates in the House on CSPAN and I could
not believe what was happening.Here doctors, as Dr. Frist had
done in the senate, got up and said without a doubt that Mrs. Schivo
was not in a persistent vegitative state.
Without question this was true and without even examing the patient
or reviewing 15 years of court documentation by leading neurologists.
This amounts to legislative malpractice for these doctors and their
licences should be suspended. Then one congressman said that he was
looking in to the husbands finances and he (the husband) had taken
all her money and he wanted her to pass on for his own motives.
I have seen many of these end of life cases over ther years and
I usually have my own opinions about motives of one party or
another but I would never express these in public. These are very
stressful cases and people have lots of fears and concerns and it
is not fair to attack either side in a personal way. But here this
congressman is on national TV making all these acusations which are
not relevant to the issue which should have been considered.
Laws are meant to cover all people.
For example they could pass a law stating that once a feeding tube
is in place it must stay in place until the patient improves or dies.
The arguments presented by these men and women skirted the issue
that the republican congress was about to write a law for one
individual because the President and his brother wanted it.
It was clear to me that independent of the facts of the case at
hand that this congress is not capable of constructing or
articulating any rational form of debate. They can only appeal
to emotions and they do this without regard to the facts.
A seventh grade student from this area could do much better
than any of these congressman. With redistricting and with big
money being necessary to even run for Congress we have a situation
which leads to a potential disaster for the American way of life.
I usually refrain from talking about politics in
this website but this is something that goes beyond party and inpacts
on my patients ability to make rational health care decisions.
The Democrats went along with this because of fear. What happened
to 'profiles in courage'? If our leaders are not capable of proper
discourse and responsiblity then is there any hope for the future
of this great country?
2/1/05
Groundhog day could not come any sooner since we have had a very
cold past few weeks. The new dietary guidelines from the US
Department of Agriculture wants us to eat a lot more fruits and
vegtables and to get at least a half hour a day of exercise.
The new year is a good time to re-examine our diet and exercise
routines. The health clubs fill up with the new year but those
resolutions often end quickly. We all need to work at it.
12/09/04
Happy and healthy holidays to you all! We have added some new
journal club items including topics of Atrial Fibrillation Multiple
Myeloma and Thyroid nodule. Some of these are quite technical but most
people should be able to follow it.
Mirela
Buy our Art of Healing Old Time Radio CD for only $6.95 and some of the proceeds will
go to help our foster child. Payment is with your credit card through PayPal.
Click on BUY NOW button below the picture. Over 100 old shows with The Lone Ranger
Abbott and Costello, Jack Benny, The Shadow, Hopalong Cassidy and much much more.
Shipping and Handling are free for USA so $6.95 is all you pay.
Details of CD contents -click here!
Picture of Old Time Radio CD
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11/01/04
Listen to Merk Vioxx and FDA in the Journal Club or below.
It is quite a story of this billion dollar drugs fall.
Merck Vioxx and the FDA 2004
10/11/04
Two new audio files added to the Journal Club as RealAudio files.
One deals with the importance and treatment of systolic
hypertension while the other looks at the diagnosis and treatment of
Fibromyalgia. Two new books have also been added to PDB section of Download.
One is the Radioboys mysteries of the 1920 era and the other are writings
of a real cowboy. We hope you enjoy all of these.
As the leaves come down we need to remember that rebirth needs first a cleansing.
The days get shorter and eventually winters tale will revisit these parts.
The hope of spring seems
far away. Similarly in our care of our bodies and minds we must try to focus on
good habits of eating exercise and spiritual thoughts. Work on the essentials.
Cleanse the body and soul and keep springs hope alive.
Connect here or through Journal Club: Real Audio
Systolic Blood Pressure 2004
Fibromyalgia 2004
Ballfield at Lafayette and Goffle
208 Intersection Goffle
DOWNLOADS
For those of you who have Palm handhelds you know what a pdb file is and
how nice it is to be able to read books on your palm. We give you the abilty
to download some books from our site for free. We also give PDF files which
can be viewed on your computer with Adobe Acrobat. So check out this section
from the startup page.
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CS LEWIS
Just as we have readings from GK Chesterton we will be adding a section
on CS Lewis. In particular readings from -Mere Christianity. We should have
these online in the fall bit by bit. We hope you enjoy them.
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CARDIOVASCULAR AGE - COMPUTE
02/22/01
We have a program in which you place your values for your age cholesterol weight BP
and other information and it computes what your heart and vascular age is. If
your readings are good then the net effect will be that you will have a younger
age and the opposite is true if your readings are associated with increased risk such
as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Give it a try! We have this program
in a restricted area so you must sign in first to get to it. Once you have a username
and password you can go directly.
Login
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SMOKING WORLDWIDE
Smoking continues to be a major problem worldwide and if you listen to
our new Journal Club you will be surprised(coming soon). Look for it on the initial screen.
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OUR DAILY BREAD
Our Daily Bread has daily spiritual messages from the bible and we think
you will enjoy it no matter what your faith. Look for this on the initial screen.
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DOCTOR'S GUIDE
Doctor's Guide gives in depth journal articles on all areas of medicine.
Look for this on the initial screen.
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Photo - Lafayette Ave. Circa. 1897
Lafayette Ave. 1897 click here
Copyright 1997
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Photo - Laura Nancy and Dorothy 1984
Laura Nancy and Dorothy- click here
Copyright 2000
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Photo - Doctor and Dorothy
Doctor and Dorothy
Copyright 2000
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Last update 07/30/00