Vitamin D And Chemotherapy Of Colon Cancer

Vitamin D And Chemotherapy Of Colon Cancer.
Higher vitamin D levels in patients with advanced colon cancer appear to benefit reply to chemotherapy and targeted anti-cancer drugs, researchers say. "We found that patients who had vitamin D levels at the highest department had improved survival and improved progression-free survival, compared with patients in the lowest category," said superintend inventor Dr Kimmie Ng, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Those patients survived one-third longer than patients with ribald levels of vitamin D - an norm 32,6 months, compared with 24,5 months, the researchers found.

The report, scheduled for spectacle this week at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, adds more burden to suspicions that vitamin D might be a valuable cancer-fighting supplement. However, colon cancer patients shouldn't analyse to boost vitamin D levels beyond the usual range, one expert said. The study only found an association between vitamin D levels and colon cancer survival rates. It did not examine cause and effect.

Researchers for years have investigated vitamin D as a passive anti-cancer tool, but none of the findings have been strong enough to warrant a recommendation, said Dr Len Lichtenfeld, emissary chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. "Everyone comes to the same conclusion - yes, there may be some benefit, but we at bottom need to study it carefully so we can be certain there aren't other factors that mutate vitamin D look better than it is.

These findings are interesting, and show that vitamin D may have a lines in improving outcomes in cancer care". In this study, researchers measured blood levels of vitamin D in 1,043 patients enrolled in a appearance 3 clinical attempt comparing three first-line treatments for newly diagnosed, advanced colon cancer. All of the treatments implicated chemotherapy combined with the targeted anti-cancer drugs bevacizumab and/or cetuximab.

Vitamin D is called the "sunshine vitamin" because kind-hearted bodies produce it when the sun's ultraviolet rays whip the skin. It promotes the intestines' ability to absorb calcium and other important minerals, and is fundamental for maintaining strong, healthy bones, according to the US National Institutes of Health. But vitamin D also influences cellular occupation in ways that could be beneficial in treating cancer.

The Factor Increasing The Risk Of Premature Birth

The Factor Increasing The Risk Of Premature Birth.
Women who have stubby blood levels of vitamin D during pregnancy are more liable to to give birth prematurely, a unique study suggests. Women with the lowest levels of vitamin D were about 1,5 times as conceivable to deliver early compared to those with the highest levels, the investigators found. That finding held correctly even after the researchers accounted for other factors linked to preterm birth, such as overweight and obesity, and smoking. "Mothers who were faulty in vitamin D in early parts of pregnancy were more likely to deliver early, preterm, than women who did not have vitamin D deficiency," said Lisa Bodnar, secondary professor of epidemiology and obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh, who led the study.

Although this meditate on found a strong association between vitamin D levels and preterm birth, Bodnar famous that the study wasn't designed to verify that low vitamin D levels actually caused the early deliveries. "We can indubitably not prove cause and effect. The study is published in the February issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided funding for this research. According to the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board, parturient women should get 600 intercontinental units (IUs) of vitamin D daily.

The body result produces vitamin D after exposure to sunlight. Few foods restrain the vitamin. However, fatty fish, such as salmon or sardines, is a good source. And, vitamin D is added to dairy products in the United States. Vitamin D helps to service fine fettle bones. It also helps muscles and nerves work properly, according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Premature extraction can lead to lifelong problems for a baby, and this peril is greater the earlier a baby is delivered.

A baby is considered premature when born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, according to the March of Dimes. Early family can cause a number of problems, including issues in the lungs, brain, eyes, ears, and the digestive and protected systems, according to the March of Dimes. Previous studies on vitamin D levels and their possessions on early delivery have been mixed. "One or two beamy studies showed vitamin D deficiency increased the risk. However, smaller studies found no link.

Vitamin B12 Affects Fractures

Vitamin B12 Affects Fractures.
Older men with sorry levels of vitamin B-12 are at increased jeopardize for bone fractures, a new study suggests. Researchers measured the levels of vitamin B-12 in 1000 Swedish men with an middling age of 75. They found that participants with base-born levels of the vitamin were more likely than those with normal levels to have suffered a fracture. Men in the assortment with the lowest B-12 levels were about 70 percent more likely to have suffered a fracture than others in the reflect on Dec 2013.

This increased risk was primarily due to fractures in the lumbar spine, where there was an up to 120 percent greater unpremeditated of fractures. "The higher risk also remains when we take other risk factors for fractures into consideration, such as age, smoking, weight, bone-mineral density, c whilom fractures, carnal activity, the vitamin D content in the blood and calcium intake," study author Catharina Lewerin, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden, said in a university newscast release.

Heartburn Causes A Deficiency Of Vitamins

Heartburn Causes A Deficiency Of Vitamins.
People who grasp set acid-reflux medications might have an increased risk of vitamin B-12 deficiency, according to new research. Taking proton send inhibitors (PPIs) to ease the symptoms of excess stomach acid for more than two years was linked to a 65 percent extension in the risk of vitamin B-12 deficiency. Commonly reach-me-down PPI brands include Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid. Researchers also found that using acid-suppressing drugs called histamine-2 receptor antagonists - also known as H2 blockers - for two years was associated with a 25 percent burgeon in the hazard of B-12 deficiency.

Common brands embody Tagamet, Pepcid and Zantac. "This study raises the question of whether or not people who are on long-term acid censoring need to be tested for vitamin B-12 deficiency," said study author Dr Douglas Corley, a investigation scientist and gastroenterologist at Kaiser Permanente's division of research in Oakland, California Corley said, however, that these findings should be confirmed by another study. "It's harsh to fetch a general clinical recommendation based on one study, even if it is a large study.

Vitamin B-12 is an important nutrient that helps husband blood and nerve cells healthy, according to the US Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). It can be found as expected in meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and other dairy products. According to the ODS, between 1,5 percent and 15 percent of Americans are unfinished in B-12. Although most public get enough B-12 from their diet, some have trouble absorbing the vitamin efficiently.

A deficiency of B-12 can cause tiredness, weakness, constipation and a depletion of appetite. A more serious deficiency can cause balance problems, recall difficulties and nerve problems, such as numbness and tingling in the hands or feet. Stomach acid is reassuring in the absorption of B-12 so it makes sense that taking medications that reduce the amount of stomach acid would contraction vitamin B-12 absorption.

More than 150 million prescriptions were written for PPIs in 2012, according to breeding information included in the study. Both types of medications also are available in lower doses over the counter. Corley and his colleagues reviewed statistics on nearly 26000 people who had been diagnosed with a vitamin B-12 deficiency and compared them to almost 185000 kinfolk who didn't have a deficiency.

Calcium And Vitamin D Reduce The Risk Of Skin Tumors

Calcium And Vitamin D Reduce The Risk Of Skin Tumors.
Certain women at imperil for developing melanoma, the most life-threatening form of skin cancer, may hew down the likelihood in half by taking vitamin D with calcium supplements, a new study suggests. "It looks disposed to there is some promising evidence for vitamin D and calcium for prevention of melanoma in a high-risk group," said premier danseur researcher Dr Jean Tang, an assistant professor of dermatology at Stanford University School of Medicine.

The women most at endanger of developing the life-threatening cancer are those who have had a one-time non-melanoma form of skin cancer, such as basal cell or squamous cell cancer, the researchers said. Vitamin D and calcium are acknowledged for their roles in bone growth, but they also affect other cells in the body. Some studies have shown that vitamin D and calcium are associated with humiliate risk of colon, breast, prostate and other cancers, the researchers said.

Tang speculated that cancer cells lurking in the coating of women who have had a anterior skin cancer may be waiting to develop into melanoma. "But if they take calcium and vitamin D that reduces the danger of developing an actual tumor". As little as 400 worldwide units (IU) of vitamin D daily may be protective.

The US Institute of Medicine now recommends 600 IU of vitamin D daily. Calcium has also been shown to limit tumor swelling in patients with colon cancer. "So maybe calcium has a role, too. I can't aver whether it was the calcium or the vitamin D that was important". But the combination seemed to convey a benefit.

Whether these results would be seen in men or childish women isn't known. But an earlier study led by Tang found a profit from vitamin D in reducing the risk of melanoma among older men. "More studies for to be done, because we want to make sure these results are true in other communities".

The news was published in the June 27 2011 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. For the study, Tang's duo collected data on 36282 postmenopausal women, 50 to 79 years old, who took section in the Women's Health Initiative study.

Normal Levels Of Vitamin D Is Associated With Improved Treatment Of Some Leukemia Patients

Normal Levels Of Vitamin D Is Associated With Improved Treatment Of Some Leukemia Patients.
Patients with a non-specified model of leukemia who had meagre vitamin D levels when their cancer was diagnosed saw their disease progress much faster and were two times more favourite to die than those with adequate vitamin D levels, a new study finds. Researchers also discovered that increasing vitamin D levels in patients was linked to longer survival times, even after controlling for other factors associated with leukemia progression. This is an substantial decision for both patients and doctors, according to the researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn and the University of Iowa.

The disability - confirmed lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) - is cancer of the white blood cells (lymphocytes) and mainly affects adults. Although CLL is often diagnosed at an first stage, the standard approach is to linger until patients develop symptoms before beginning chemotherapy, explained study author and hematologist Dr Tait Shanafelt.

Vitamin E Fights Against Diseases

Vitamin E Fights Against Diseases.
There might be some honourable news in the resist against Alzheimer's disease: A new study suggests that a large daily dose of vitamin E might improve slow progression of the memory-robbing illness. Alzheimer's patients given a "pharmacological" quantity of vitamin E experienced slower declines in thinking and memory and required less caregiver duration than those taking a placebo, said Dr Maurice Dysken, lead author of a new study published Dec 31, 2013 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "We found vitamin E significantly slowed the have a claim to of rise versus placebo," said Dysken, who is with the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System.

Experts stressed, however, that vitamin E does not seem to disagreement the underlying cause of Alzheimer's and is in no approach a cure. The study involved more than 600 patients at 14 VA medical centers with bland to moderate Alzheimer's. Researchers bust the group into quarters, with each receiving a different therapy. One-quarter received a daily dose of 2000 or oecumenic units (IU) of alpha tocopherol, a form of vitamin E That's a less large dose; by comparison, a daily multivitamin contains only about 100 IUs of vitamin E.

The other sets of patients were given the Alzheimer's medication memantine, a alliance of vitamin E and memantine, or a placebo. People who took vitamin E unaccompanied experienced a 19 percent reduction in their annual deserve of decline compared to a placebo during the study's average 2,3 years of follow-up, the researchers said. In usable terms, this means the vitamin E group enjoyed a more than six-month postponement in the progression of Alzheimer's, the researchers said.

This delay could mean a lot to patients, the researchers said, noting that the ebb experienced by the placebo group could translate into the complete loss of the ability to dress or bathe independently. The researchers also found that race in the vitamin E group needed about two fewer hours of mindfulness each day. Neither memantine nor the combination of vitamin E plus memantine showed clinical benefits in this trial. Therapy with vitamin E also appears to be safe, with no increased imperil of affliction or death, the researchers found.

Ethnicity And Vitamin D

Ethnicity And Vitamin D.
Black Americans who set down vitamin D supplements may significantly demean their blood pressure, a new study suggests. "Compared with other races, blacks in the United States are more tenable to have vitamin D deficiency and more likely to have high blood pressure," said escort researcher Dr John Forman, an assistant professor of medicine at the renal margin of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. But among the black study participants, three months of supplemental vitamin D was associated with a spot in systolic blood make (the top number in a blood pressure reading) of up to 4 mm Hg, the researchers found.

And "If our findings are confirmed by other studies, then vitamin D supplementation may be a helpful means of ration black individuals lower their blood pressure". Dr Michael Holick, a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine, said that vitamin D may move blood pressing by causing blood vessels to relax, allowing for more and easier blood flow.

In addition, because many vile Americans are deficient in vitamin D, taking a supplement may benefit their health even more who was not intricate with the study. "We are now beginning to believe that a lot of the health disparities between blacks and whites are due to vitamin D deficiency, including the imperil for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancers and even infectious disease".

Diet and sunlight are two unaffected sources of vitamin D in humans. However, having dark-colored epidermis cuts down on the amount of vitamin D the skin makes, according to the US National Institutes of Health. For the study, published online March 13 and in the April copy offspring of the journal Hypertension, Forman's team randomly assigned 250 black participants to one of three doses of vitamin D supplements or an resting placebo.

Physical Activity And Adequate Levels Of Vitamin D Reduces The Risk Of Dementia

Physical Activity And Adequate Levels Of Vitamin D Reduces The Risk Of Dementia.
Physical motion and sufficient levels of vitamin D appear to diminish the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, according to two large, long-term studies scheduled to be presented Sunday at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Hawaii. In one study, researchers analyzed facts from more than 1200 community in their 70s enrolled in the Framingham Study. The study, which has followed woman in the street in the town of Framingham, Mass, since 1948, tracked the participants for cardiovascular health and is now also tracking their cognitive health.

The somatic activity levels of the 1200 participants were assessed in 1986-1987. Over two decades of follow-up, 242 of the participants developed dementia, including 193 cases of Alzheimer's. Those who did steady to depressed amounts of exercise had about a 40 percent reduced peril of developing any type of dementia. People with the lowest levels of physical activity were 45 percent more liable to develop any type of dementia than those who did the most exercise.

These trends were strongest in men. "This is the basic study to follow a large group of individuals for this long a period of time. It suggests that lowering the jeopardize for dementia may be one additional benefit of maintaining at least moderate physical activity, even into the eighth decade of life," deliberate over author Dr Zaldy Tan, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, VA Boston and Harvard Medical School, said in an Alzheimer's Association scuttlebutt release.

The two shakes study found a link between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk of cognitive enfeeblement and dementia later in life. Researchers in the United Kingdom analyzed data from 3325 commonality aged 65 and older who took part in the third US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The participants' vitamin D levels were regular from blood samples and compared with their play on a measure of cognitive function that included tests of memory, orientation in time and space, and skill to maintain attention. Those who scored in the lowest 10 percent were classified as being cognitively impaired.

Uncontrolled Intake Of Vitamin E Is An Increased Risk Of Hemorrhagic Stroke

Uncontrolled Intake Of Vitamin E Is An Increased Risk Of Hemorrhagic Stroke.
People who stand vitamin E supplements may be putting themselves at a mortify increased endanger for a hemorrhagic stroke, researchers report. Some studies have suggested that taking vitamin E can cover against heart disease, while others have found that, in high doses, it might increase the danger of death. In the United States, an estimated 13 percent of the population takes vitamin E supplements, the researchers said.

And "Vitamin E supplementation is not as strongbox as we may like to believe," said distance researcher Dr Markus Schurks, who's with the division of preventive nostrum at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "Specifically, it appears to carry an increased risk for hemorrhagic stroke. While the jeopardize is low translating into one additional hemorrhage per 1250 persons taking vitamin E, widespread and unruly use of vitamin E should be cautioned against".

The report is published in the Nov 5, 2010 online version of the BMJ. For the study, Schurks and his colleagues did a meta-analysis, which is a rethinking of published studies, that looked at vitamin E and the risk for stroke. There are basically two types of stroke: one where blood spill to the brain is blocked, called an ischemic stroke, and one where vessels severance and bleed into the brain, called a hemorrhagic stroke. Of the two, hemorrhagic strokes are more rare, but more serious, the researchers noted.

The analysis team looked at nine trials that included 118756 patients. Although none of the trials found an overall imperil for stroke associated with vitamin E, there was a incongruity in the risk of the type of stroke.

Importance Of Vitamin D For Humans

Importance Of Vitamin D For Humans.
Low levels of vitamin D have been implicated as a implied cause of diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes. Now an large re-examine suggests it's really the other way around: Low levels of the "sunshine vitamin" are more liable a consequence - not a cause - of illness. In their review of almost 500 studies, the researchers found conflicting results. Observational studies, which looked back at what citizenry ate or the kinds of supplements they took, showed a tie-up between higher vitamin D levels in the body and better health.

But, in studies where vitamin D was given as an intervention (treatment) to ease prevent a particular ailment, it had no effect. The one exception was a decreased death chance in older adults, particularly older women, who were given vitamin D supplements. "The divergence between observational and intervention studies suggests that low vitamin D is a marker of ill health," wrote judgement authors led by Philippe Autier, at the International Prevention Research Institute, in Lyon, France.

Vitamin D is known to have a good time a key role in bone health. Low levels of vitamin D have been found in a tally of conditions, including heart disease, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, cancer and Parkinson's disease. These findings may clarify why so many Americans are currently taking vitamin D supplements. It's nicknamed the sunshine vitamin because the body produces vitamin D when exposed to the Sunna (if someone isn't wearing sunscreen).

It's also found in some foods, such as egg yolks and fatty fish, and in foods that have been fortified with vitamin D, such as milk. The flow review, published online Dec 6, 2013 in The Lancet Diabetes andamp; Endocrinology, looked at 290 observational studies. In these studies, blood samples to size vitamin D levels were infatuated many years before the wake of the sanctum occurred. The review also included results of 172 randomized clinical trials of vitamin D In randomized trials, some ancestors undergo a therapy while others do not.

A Tan Is Still Admired By Ignoring The Danger Of Cancer

A Tan Is Still Admired By Ignoring The Danger Of Cancer.
Despite significant concerns about pelt cancer, a womanhood of Americans nevertheless regard that having a tan is an attractive, desirable and healthy look, a new national survey finds. The voting was conducted by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) in January, and included just over 7100 men and women nationwide. "Our review highlighted the contradictory feelings that many people have about tanning - they dig the way a tan looks but are concerned about skin cancer, which is estimated to act upon about one in five Americans in their lifetime," Dr Zoe D Draelos, a dermatologist and consulting professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham NC, said in a tidings release.

So "What they may not discern is that no matter whether you tan or burn, a tan from the sun or tanning beds damages the scrape and can cause wrinkles, age spots and skin cancer," Draelos added. "The challenge is changing the long-standing attitudes about tanning to correlate with people's knowing about skin cancer".

To Maintain The Health Of The Brain Needs Vitamins D And E

To Maintain The Health Of The Brain Needs Vitamins D And E.
Three unripe studies suggest that vitamins D and E might labourer memorialize our minds sharper, aid in warding off dementia, and even offer some protection against Parkinson's disease, although much more fact-finding is needed to confirm the findings. In one trial, British researchers tied smutty levels of vitamin D to higher odds of developing dementia, while a Dutch study found that commoners with diets rich in vitamin E had a lower risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

Finally, a cram released by Finnish researchers linked high blood levels of vitamin D to a debase risk of Parkinson's disease. In the first report, published in the July 12 spring of the Archives of Internal Medicine, a research team led by David J Llewellyn of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom found that amidst 858 older adults, those with ignoble levels of vitamin D were more likely to develop dementia.

In fact, people who had blood levels of vitamin D soften than 25 nanomoles per liter were 60 percent more inclined to to develop substantial declines overall in thinking, learning and memory over the six years of the study. In addition, they were 31 percent more in all probability to have lower scores in the test measuring "executive function" than those with adequate vitamin D levels, while levels of attention remained unaffected, the researchers found. "Executive function" is a set of high-level cognitive abilities that better people organize, prioritize, modify to change and plan for the future.

And "The association remained significant after adjustment for a wide range of likely factors , and when analyses were restricted to elderly subjects who were non-demented at baseline," Llewellyn's line-up wrote. The possible role of vitamin D in preventing other illnesses has been investigated by other researchers, but one excellent cautioned that the evidence for taking vitamin D supplements is still unproven.

So "There is currently completely a lot of enthusiasm for vitamin D supplementation, of both individuals and populations, in the belief that it will reduce the weigh down of many diseases," said Dr Andrew Grey, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and co-author of an position statement in the July 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "This fervour is predicated upon data from observational studies - which are subject to confounding, and are hypothesis-generating rather than hypothesis-testing - rather than randomized controlled trials," Grey said. "Calls for widespread vitamin D supplementation are unripe on the essence of current evidence".

In another report involving vitamin D and perspicacity health, researchers led by Paul Knekt and colleagues at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki, Finland, found that ancestors with higher serum levels of vitamin D appear to have a degrade risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Their report was published in the July issue of the Archives of Neurology.

For the study, Knekt and his gang collected data on almost 3200 Finnish men and women superannuated 50 to 79 who did not have Parkinson's disease when the study began. Over 29 years of follow-up, 50 mobile vulgus developed Parkinson's disease. The researchers calculated that rank and file with the highest levels of vitamin D had a 67 percent lower risk of developing Parkinson's infection compared with those with the lowest levels of vitamin D.

Increased Levels Of Vitamin B6 In The Blood Reduces The Risk Of Developing Lung Cancer

Increased Levels Of Vitamin B6 In The Blood Reduces The Risk Of Developing Lung Cancer.
A revitalized cram shows that commonality with high levels of a B vitamin are half as likely as others to develop lung cancer. But while the reduction in peril is significant, this doesn't mean that smokers should hit the vitamin aisle as an alternative of quitting. While the study links vitamin B6, as well as one amino acid, to fewer cases of lung cancer, it doesn't conclude that consuming the nutrients will reset the risk. Future explore is needed to confirm that there's a cause-and-effect relationship at work, not just an association, researchers said.

The delve into "may lead to important new discoveries. But people should not think that they can stick out a few vitamins and be safe smoking," stressed Dr Norman Edelman, the American Lung Association's supreme medical officer. The findings appear in the June 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The researchers examined a library of almost 520000 Europeans who were recruited between 1992 and 2000. They compared 899 who developed lung cancer by 2006 to 1,770 similarly matched forebears who hadn't developed the disease. The researchers found that those with the highest levels of vitamin B6 in their blood were 56 percent less conceivable to have developed lung cancer than those with the lowest levels. There was a like metamorphosis - a 48 percent decline - for those with the highest levels of methionine, an amino acid, compared to those with the lowest concentrations.

The reductions in jeopardy held up for both smokers and non-smokers, said contemplation co-author Paul Brennan, a researcher with the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France. Normally, as many as 15 percent of lifetime smokers will mature lung cancer, but fewer than 1 percent of those who never smoke do, Brennan said.

The reduction in jeopardize is evocative and it could be a step forward toward greater understanding of how food and medications may prevent lung cancer, said the ALA's Edelman. "That's a strong new field, and it's just beginning to become something that's in fact being studied," he said. Both vitamin B6 and methionine are important to groovy health and available in supplement form.