Harvard: Regular vigorous physical activity could slow the progression of prostate cancer in older men, a study has found.
The findings suggest working up a real sweat may help prevent men over 65 dying from the disease.

But the team from Harvard School of Public Health found men had to work out vigorously for at least three hours a week for it to have a positive effect.

The 14-year study, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, focused on data on 47,620 men in the US.

Regular exercise throughout life has benefits and this could be yet an example where steady and prolonged application is ‘money in the bank’ later in life

Previous research has suggested more physically active men may be at lower risk of prostate cancer. However, the link has never been shown to be particularly strong.

The 47,620 men involved in the latest study were followed from 1986 to 2000.
Each was asked to provide information about how much exercise – such as hiking, jogging, cycling, swimming and racket sports – they took.

During 14 years of the study, 2,892 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed, including 482 advanced cases.

The researchers found that older men – aged 65 and over – who did regular, vigorous exercise were at a lower risk – almost 70% – of advanced and fatal cases of the disease.

However, no such association was found in younger men. The researchers say that more work is needed to determine just how vigorous exercise may benefit prostate cancer patients.

Henry Scowcroft, of the charity Cancer Research UK, said it was not clear whether the study had shown a “cause and effect”, or whether men who took more exercise were simply more health conscious.

He said: “This group might be more inclined to report symptoms to their doctor earlier and thus have their disease diagnosed before it becomes advanced.

“Given the well-documented benefits of a healthy lifestyle, we recommend that you take at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week.

“Having said that, older men should consult with their GP before embarking on any particularly vigorous exercise regime.”

Chris Hiley, of the Prostate Cancer Charity said: “We would caution that men with prostate cancer, many of whom might have other health problems associated with getting older, should seek advice from their GP before suddenly making such a change.

“What is clear is that regular exercise throughout life has benefits and this could be yet another example where steady and prolonged application is ‘money in the bank’ later in life.”

Knoxville: Scientists at the University of Tennessee have grown human eggs from ovary cells.

The research may lead to improved methods of treating infertility and delaying the menopause. Cells were taken from the surface of the ovaries in women aged between 39 and 52 and grown in a hormone-rich solution.

The researchers say the eggs were capable of being fertilised and could lead to a limitless supply of eggs for IVF treatment.

Professor Antonin Bukovsky, who led the research, said that further trials were needed before the eggs could be made available for use in patients.

London: New research in the UK has claimed a major breakthrough in the treatment of the debilitating brain disease Alzheimer’s by treating it with a diet rich in anti-oxidants, a combination of nutrients which prevents and even reverses brain cell damage.

The research has discovered that the progression of the disease which causes degeneration of the medial temporal lobe, the part of the brain responsible for memory and decision-making, can be prevented and even halted, by a diet rich in certain nutrients including anti-oxidants.

Patrick Holford, an internationally–renowned nutritionist, told world medical experts at the London Anti-Ageing Conference that he had arrested the progression of Alzheimer’s in a number of patients and completely restored the memory of others with lesser conditions such as poor memory and concentration.

Holford, says his research has found a direct link with Alzheimer’s to high levels of homocysteine in the blood. High levels double the risk of Alzheimers, he says. This amino acid, is already linked to coronary heart disease. The nutrients consumed by the patients reduced levels of this dangerous substance by up to 74% in eight weeks.

Scientists already know that there is a correlation between the build up of amyloid plaques – a protein that clogs up the brain, killing the cells, but this can only be detected after death. In tests on 25 patients with Alzheimer’s raised levels of homocysteine was detected with a simple blood test.

Holford gave his patients a cocktail of homocysteine-reducing anti-oxidants including Vitamins C & E, B6,2, Choline, Phosphatidyl serine, DMAE (found in sardine and salmon), folate and zinc.

One patient, a woman, who developed cognitive impairment which can led to full Alzhemiers, had the condition arrested by the change in diet and lifestyle. Another man not only had his poor memory restored but with the bonus of his libido.

“We are completely denying the role of nutrients in this disease We only have to look to the animal world – intelligent animals are those who eat the brains, organs and eggs of others while in the bird world it is the ones with strong beaks who are most intelligent who eat seeds,” says Holford.

Since the brain is 60% fat, Holford says we should be eating a diet rich in Vitamin E, an oil soluable vitamin (liver and eggs), oily fish (sardines and salmon) and seeds (pumpkin, flax) which contain Omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids.

One of the signs that you may not be getting these vital brain nutrients, says, Holford, is dry skin.

“Its bad news for your brain if you have dry skin and means that you are not getting enough of the right nutrients,” he said.

He said that there was evidence to suggest that the damage to the brain begins can begin 40 years before the onset of Alzheimer’s and that mild cognitive impairment starts five years before full dementia.

In a recent TV experiment Holford, who runs the Bio Brain Centre in London, where he treats brain disorders, changed the disruptive behaviour of three schoolchildren by changing their diet.

The results of his findings will be unveiled in a new book, The Alzheimer’s Prevention Plan being published next month.

His recommendations to lower your “H” score include:

Eat less fatty meat, more fish and vegetable protein
Eat your greens
Have a clove of garlic every day
Don’t add salt to your food
Cut back on tea and coffee
Limit your alcohol
Reduce your stress
Stop smoking
Correct oestrogen deficiency
Supplement homocysteine lowering nutrients every day

Los Angeles: Women who smoke during pregnancy not only put their babies health at risk but also that of future generations, say researchers at the University of Southern California.

In a recent study, scientists found that smoking may permanently alter DNA, which is inherited by siblings. For example, they discovered that the grandchildren of smokers were more than twice as likely to suffer from asthma.The researchers studied 338 children who had developed asthma before the age of five.

Seattle:Genetically modified mice that live 20 per cent longer than normal have been created by scientists in an experiment that opens approaches to extending the human lifespan.

The new strain of mouse produces more of an antioxidant protein that limits tissue damage caused by highly reactive chemicals called free radicals, which could also be exploited to fight the ageing process in people.

The US research suggests that drugs that protect the body against free-radical damage could cure age-related conditions such as heart disease and help people to live substantially longer.

It also indicates that stimulating the body’s own production of antioxidants is likely to be more effective than using drugs, vitamins or other supplements with similar properties.

The benefits of catalase, a natural antioxidant enzyme, were seen only in mice that made extra quantities in specialised parts of their cells. This suggests that increased production needs to be targeted precisely for maximum effect.

Peter Rabinovitch, Professor of Pathology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, who led the research, said that removing free radicals at the source appeared to be the most promising way forward for anti-ageing medicine.

“This study is very supportive of the free-radical theory of ageing,” Professor Rabinovitch said. “It shows the significance of free radicals, and of reactive oxygen species in particular, in the ageing process.

“People used to only focus on specific age-related diseases, because it was believed that the ageing process itself could not be affected. What we’re realising now is that by intervening in the underlying ageing process, we may be able to produce very significant increases in ‘healthspan’, or healthy lifespan.”

Previous research has revealed two methods that can extend the lifespan of mice, but neither of these appears to be practical for human use. Mice that are fed diets that border on starvation rations live substantially longer, as do rodents that lack a genetic growth factor.

The first approach is not suitable for people because it would be virtually impossible to follow for long periods, and the second has the side-effect of provoking dwarfism.

As a result, research into ageing has increasingly focused on the activity of free radicals and antioxidants, which are widely thought to play a critical part in the tissue damage that accumulates as organisms age.

In the new study, details of which are published today in the journal Science, Professor Rabinovitch’s team sought to analyse the effects of catalase, an enzyme made by cells that helps to convert hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. Hydrogen peroxide is a waste product of metabolism that is often the precursor of free radicals, particularly reactive forms of oxygen, that can damage cells. This cellular damage itself leads to the production of more free radicals, creating a vicious circle of age-related decline.