After you hit the gym, do you collapse on your couch? We know the feeling. You’re less likely to walk, do chores, and other non-exercise activities after a hard workout, previous research has shown.

But here’s the good news: A moderate workout can make youmore active a few days later, a new study suggests.

A recent Australian study had 16 overweight men do two different workouts: One hour-long treadmill walk at 4 mph, and one week later, the same bout with the treadmill incline turned up.

Researchers expected that exercise would decrease daily activity because of exhaustion, but the results actually proved the opposite. People’s activity level showed no significant difference during the two days after working out, but then surged on the third day for those who walked with the incline—by a 25 percent increase in regular activity compared to the day they worked out, according to accelerometer readings.

Why the delay? “The bout of exercise could act like a stimulant and trigger the hedonistic regions of the brain,” says James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist. “It basically causes a high—an exercise high—which may addict you to movement.” (Related from Men’s Health: The Biology of Running.)

A 2007 review in the journal Obesity found similar results. Those authors explained that people may have a feeling of productiveness after hitting the gym, which in turn could motivate the person to be more active.

However, several studies have shown that exercise can decrease non-exercise movement. Why? The obvious answer: Muscle soreness, since those studies had subjects do harder workouts. They also only looked at 24 hours after exercise, possibly missing out on any delayed benefit.

Slumping into your couch after a workout might not seem like the biggest crime, but consider this: Someone who is more active outside of exercise can burn up to 2,000 more calories a day than someone who’s inactive, suggests a Journal of Internal Medicine review.

The bottom line: If you’re just starting out, small steps count. For overweight guys, an incline treadmill will give you control over your intensity level and be easy on your joints. (Click here for a beginners’ weight-loss plan.) “Even the slightest exercise may get you hooked on continued activity,” says Dr. Levine.

And for workout veterans trying to battle soreness, down 25 grams of whey protein after sweat sessions. A 2010 Australian study found that sedentary men who drank protein-fortified water after exercising had relieved soreness after 6 hours.

—Sara Cann (Men’s Health)

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By Tom Hansen (Men’s Health)

Cravings  are all about blood sugar. If your levels are consistent throughout the day, your eating patterns will be, too. But when you starve yourself for hours, cravings call. And you will answer.

“Your blood sugar can fall too low after just 4 hours of not eating,” says Valerie Berkowitz, M.S., R.D., nutrition director at the Center for Balanced Health in New York City. So you search the fridge, food court, or seat cushions for carbohydrates, which will provide a quick boost.

Trouble is, fast-rising blood sugar triggers your pancreas to release a flood of insulin, a hormone that not only lowers blood sugar but also signals your body to store fat. And in about half of us, insulin tends to “overshoot,” which sends blood sugar crashing. “This reinforces the binge, because it makes you crave sugar and starch again,” says Berkowitz.

The most effective way to keep blood sugar in check is to avoid foods that are made with added sugar—soda, some fruit juices, baked goods. You can eliminate those entirely. As for foods that contain high amounts of starch—pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, or any other flour-based food—we’ll admit they’re delicious, and they can also provide vitamins and fiber. But you should limit yourself to 30 to 40 grams (g) of total carbohydrates at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and 10 to 20 g at any given snack. (Check labels.)

In addition, follow these three rules:

Eat regularly—approximately every 3 hours. This allows you to eat smaller meals without becoming hungry.

Have protein and fat (meat, cheese, nuts, or eggs contain both) at every meal. This slows the digestion of carbohydrates, which helps prevent spikes in blood sugar.

Go whole grain. Shop carefully for carbs. Make sure any bread, pasta, or rice that you eat is 100 percent whole grain. Because whole grains contain fiber, their effect on your blood sugar is reduced.

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Frank Antonawich, Ph.D.

Over fifty years ago, most scientific and medical therapeutic approaches focused on cellular metabolism.  With the advent of genetics a concentrated shift toward genomics, and subsequently proteomics (protein profiles), dominated the therapeutic stage.  The area of metabolism (metabolomics) is now being revisited as an attractive target.

One such regulatory approach is via the manipulation of cellular energy.  Cellular energy is synonymous with metabolic power.  As we age there is a decrease in metabolism, furthermore, numerous disease states involve metabolic dysfunction (i.e. ischemia/stroke, cancer).  As we all know, the major power plant of the cell is the mitochondria.  It utilizes high energy intermediates (NADH and FADH) to donate electrons and drive the production of ATP, our functional energy source.  Can we alter metabolic fitness by providing an alternative electron source?

WHAT IS POLY-MVA?

Poly-MVA is a dietary supplement that contains a patented palladium lipoic acid complex (LAPd).  LAPd is a composed of the element palladium irreversibly bound to the antioxidant lipoic acid in a trimer about thiamine (B1).   The name Poly-MVA was coined by Dr. Albert Sanchez since Poly MVA is composed of minerals, vitamins, and amino acids (MVA).  In addition to the LAPd complex, the proprietary formulation contains riboflavin, cyanocobalamin, formyl-methionine and acetyl-cysteine.  Dr. Sanchez became its principle proponent in his search for non-invasive support/treatment for cancer patients, following his wife’s tragic battle with colon cancer.

The LAPd family of compounds was discovered by Dr. Merrill Garnett.  While Dr. Garnett was formally trained as a dentist, this was followed by substantial graduate work in biochemistry and electrochemistry, followed by over 40 years of scientific bench work.  His inquiry and screening into thousands of organo-metallic compounds, led to the discovery of the non-toxic LAPd chemotherapeutic agent.  The principles that led to this finding in the early 90s still drive Dr. Garnett’s principle laboratory interests today; that ultra-low frequency  electrical currents are at the heart of all physiological processes and determine such events as the polarization, charge and folding of enzymes, nucleic acids and membrane phospholipids.  He believes that the regulation of charge transfer may form the basis of several new methods of medicinal management.

Q & A

I am frequently contacted at my laboratory, on the radio, or approached at conferences with common questions regarding Poly MVA.

• A number of people are under the impression that Poly MVA is merely a cocktail of palladium, alpha-lipoic acid, thiamine, riboflavin, cyanocobalamin, formyl-methionine and acetyl-cysteine. There is no free lipoic acid or palladium in Poly MVA, it is bound irreversibly with thiamine.  Therefore, comparisons to free palladium or lipoic acid are irrelevant.  This was done by Dr. Garnett to create a metallic polymer that is both fat and water soluble.  Furthermore, it is prepared in a unique fashion so it does not metabolize, dissociate, and liberate the metal, which could accumulate in tissues and eventually become toxic like most chemotherapeutics.

• Is Poly MVA safe?

LAPd complex has undergone extensive toxicology study (Calvert Laboratories, Inc; Pharmakon USA, Inc.). The toxicology was conducted both intravenously and orally with LAPd.  Mice were administered doses of 5,000 mg/kg (a typical human dose is 20 mg/kg).  No deaths or signs of organ damage occurred in the test animals.  It was concluded that the LD50 of LAPd exceeds 5,000 mg/kg. The Ames test was conducted by the same independent lab and demonstrated not to cause any mutations.  LAPd was also studied for its’ effectiveness in halting the growth of glioblastoma cells in vivo.  Tumors were allowed to establish and mice were divided into 8 groups of 10.  Four groups were given daily intravenous (IV) doses LAPd or placebo; four groups were given intraperitoneal doses of  .05, 1.0 or 2.0 mg per mouse for a total of four weeks and tumor volume was measured throughout the study.  Compared to the controls who received no LAPd, mice receiving the test material orally or intravenously at 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 mg had a significantly reduced growth of the glioblastoma (50% or greater reduction in tumor size).

• Palladium is a precious metal and quite expensive.  Why was it used?

Dr. Garnett discovered during his electrochemistry studies that DNA (and other biological cellular entities) has select electrical frequencies that it resonates at.  After testing thousands of chemicals, Dr. Garnett found that only a limited few metals shared the same resonance frequencies with DNA.  This characteristic facilitates electron flow between them.  This is analogous to the propulsive energy provided to a surfer by a wave.  If the surfer is in “sync” with the wave he can ride it all the way in to the beach.  However, if he or she isn’t, they will crown right over the top of the wave.  Palladium is important since this is the only one that Dr. Garnett could “cook” with the lipoic acid and thiamine to form this irreversible crystal polymer.

• Why are the other components added to the dietary supplement?

Most people feel the other components are added without regard to the LAPd complex, but this is not true.  Any molecule that transfers electrons has the ability to generate heat.  In very early studies, patient temperatures elevated.  The proprietary blend in Poly MVA is not inert, but plays a role in buffering the temperature alterations.

• Is Poly-MVA just a super free radical scavenger?

This was my initial thought after my first transient global ischemia experiments with the LAPd complex in Poly MVA.  However, the LAPd complex is a liquid crystal polymer.  There is extensive data supporting the dramatic redox potential of polymers versus monomolecular structures, such as vitamins.  Any redox molecule can certainly absorb electrons, but it also donates them.  Dr. Garnett’s electrochemistry papers demonstrate LAPd’s significant redox potential versus its monomolecular competition.  After my initial ischemia research findings, I sent some Poly MVA to Brunswick Labs, Inc. (Wareham, MA) for an ORAC analysis.  An ORAC assay measures the oxygen radical absorbance capacity of a compound as compared to Trolox (vitamin E).  The table below demonstrates the potent anti-oxidant capacity of Poly MVA (expressed as Trolox equivalent per gram):

Vitamin A = 1.6 (2,800)
Vitamin C = 1.12 (1,890)
Vitamin E = 1.0 (1,700)
Melatonin = 2.04 (3,468)
Lipoic Acid = 1.4 (2,400)
Poly MVA = 5.65 (9,605)

• Why is this supplement often credited or associated with providing energy?

While Poly MVA does indeed have the ability to be a highly effective free radical scavenger.  Its ability to donate electrons to the mitochondria of the cell is critical to explaining its dramatic benefits.  Anecdotal clinical evidence of the reports of additional energy, led to my early hypotheses regarding its possible benefits in stroke and ischemia.  Following an interruption of blood flow to any tissue, in my particular case it is the brain, there is deprivation of oxygen and glucose.  Providing an alternative energy source can maintain the integrity of the electron transport chain within the mitochondria.  The LAPd complex was demonstrated, by Dr. Garnett, to shuttle electrons to oxidized DNA, however, this energy flow does not appear to proceed directly to DNA.  By conducting a competition assay with lipoic acid, which works at complex I of the mitochondria as a cofactor as pyruvate is converted to acetyl CoA, one can attenuate the beneficial effects.  This is critical since mitochondrial health is a major concern during myocardial and cerebral ischemia.  By providing this alternative energy source, the electron transport chain components do not readily dissociate (coenzyme Q-10 = ubiquinone; cytochrome C).  In a normal cell this would obviously provide a boost, but serve as a supplement to an ischemic cell.

• Can Poly MVA be taken with other vitamins and free radical scavengers?

Since LAPd is a highly efficient redox molecule, normal daily recommended values of vitamins have not been of consequence in our laboratory studies.  However, excessive doses of anti-oxidants may attenuate Poly MVA’s benefits.  As mentioned above, administration of alpha lipoic acid in our competition assay hindered the redox benefits of Poly MVA.  However, alpha lipoic acid alone only offers a fraction of the ischemic protection offered by the polymer.

MECHANISMS OF ACTION

Poly MVA’s proposed mechanisms of action directly related to its structural formulation.  Dr. Garnett’s complex is a liquid crystal polymer and provide a unified redox.  Redox polymers more efficiently accept charge, and therefore serve as potent anti-oxidants.  Furthermore, they can also donate charge and serve as alternative energy sources.  This electron transfer appears to be the key to its physiological effectiveness.

When glucose enters a cell it is broken down under anaerobic conditions (absence of oxygen) into pyruvate.  Pyruvate subsequently enters the mitochondria, via complex I, and is quickly oxidized, in the presence of alpha-lipoic acid, to acetyl-CoA.  In aerobic respiration, acetyl-CoA is then channeled into the Krebs/Citric Acid Cycle to create the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH).  NADH donates its electron to the electron transport chain to drive the phosphorylation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).  The energy needs of the body are supplied by splitting ATP into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and a free phosphate molecule.

Studies have demonstrated that LAPd provides electrons to DNA (to replace the electrons lost in normal cells as a result of the oxidative damage associated with radiation and chemotherapy) via the mitochondria.  This electron transfer will provide an additional energy source to normal cells.  However, cancer cells are metabolically challenged, as well as, function in a hypoxic environment.  Since excess electrons have less oxygen to accept them in the cancer cell, a local generation of free radicals occurs at the mitochondrial membrane. This activates apoptosis by facilitating the release of cytochrome C from the inner mitochondrial membrane, allowing the formation of an apoptotic complex in the cytoplasm.  This complex, results in the subsequent activation of the caspase cascade of enzymes that destroy the malignant cells.  Given that healthy cells are richly oxygenated, LAPd is nontoxic to them and they actually benefit from the energy boost.

Recent findings have focused on the role of Poly MVA and a malignant cell’s ability to physiologically adapt to a hypoxic environment.   These physiological changes are mediated by a molecule called HIF-1 (hypoxia inducible factor-1), which increases in hypoxic conditions to promote an increases in: Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) - a promoter of angiogenesis; Glucose Transport 1 (GLUT1) and glycolytic enzymes – critical components in anaerobic respiration; and Erythropoietin (EPO) – responsible for the differentiation of red blood cells).   Poly MVA appears to decrease the production of HIF-1 thus restricting the ability of the cells to adapt to its environment and subsequently making it more vulnerable to the apoptotic cell death discussed above.

-  (HealthDay News) By Steven Reinberg Men who drink at least six or more cups of coffee a day may be cutting their risk for advanced prostate cancer by 60 percent, new research suggests.

This is the first large study looking specifically at the relationship between coffee and metastatic prostate cancer, lead researcher Kathryn Wilson said. “This is an exciting finding, because there aren’t many modifiable risk factors for prostate cancer.”

A definite cause-and-effect link is still far from proven, experts say, and just how coffee might help thwart prostate malignancy isn’t clear.

“There are a lot of compounds in coffee that have various biological effects. It’s a major source of antioxidants and that might have anti-cancer effects,” said Wilson, a research fellow in epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston. “Also, coffee seems to have effects on insulin and has been associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. In addition, insulin is thought to play a role in many cancers, including prostate cancer.”

Compounds in coffee also have an impact on sex hormone levels, according to the study.

But right now, the findings point only to an association between a love of “java” and a healthier prostate. More study will be needed to confirm the findings and to see if a biological explanation for the phenomenon exists, Wilson said.

The bottom line, she said: “It’s probably too early to tell someone that [he or she] should go out and start drinking coffee just because of this study.”

The report was published in the May 17 online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed and the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States. In the U.S. it affects one in six men during their lifetime. More than 2 million Americans and 16 million men around the world are prostate cancer survivors, the researchers say.

For the study, Wilson’s team collected data on almost 48,000 men who took part in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and followed them until 2008. Every four years from 1986 on these men reported on how much coffee they drank.

The researchers then calculated the risk for prostate cancer tied to the amount of coffee consumed. During the period of the study, they identified 5,035 cases of prostate cancer, of which 642 were fatal cases in which the cancer was metastatic, meaning that it had spread beyond the original site.

The Harvard team found that drinking six or more cups of coffee each day was associated with an almost 20 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer, compared to those who did not drink coffee.

In addition, the odds of developing a more lethal or advanced prostate cancer dropped by 60 percent, compared to men who abstained from coffee — a statistically significant and “substantially lower” relative risk, according to the researchers.

Even men who drank less coffee — one to three cups a day — had a 30 percent lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer, and reductions in risk were observed whether the men drank caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, Wilson’s group added.

After taking into account other lifestyle factors, such as age, smoking, obesity and exercise, the decline in the odds for prostate cancer remained, they said.

“This adds to the evidence from a variety of diseases that coffee doesn’t seem to be harmful,” Wilson said. “It has been shown, pretty consistently, to be associated with lower risk of Parkinson disease, type 2 diabetes and liver cancer. This is another potential plus for coffee.”

The study was limited by self-reported data and the lack of data on coffee intake from earlier periods of the men’s lives, the researchers noted.

The finding comes on the heels of a study published last week that found that women who drank five or more cups of coffee per day saw a significant drop in their risk for a particularly aggressive form of breast tumor. The Swedish study, from a team at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, was published in Breast Cancer Research.

Commenting on the Harvard team’s findings, Eric Jacobs, strategic director of pharmacoepidemiology at the American Cancer Society, called it a large, well-designed study. But he stressed that, so far, it remains the only study to show such a link.

“It is premature to conclude that drinking coffee might help prevent fatal prostate cancer,” he said. “We do, however, know that both smoking and obesity are associated with higher risk of fatal prostate cancer, as well as death from many other diseases. So it is fine to enjoy a nice cup of coffee, but avoiding smoking and maintaining a healthy weight are among the surest ways to stay healthy.”

– Robert Preidt

HealthDay News) — Vitamin D deficiency is common in American children and linked with obesity and different types of fat distribution in white and black youngsters, new research shows.

Vitamin D is found in certain foods, but humans synthesize most of the nutrient they need via the action of sunlight on exposed skin. Supplements can also boost levels of vitamin D.

In the study, researchers checked vitamin D levels in 237 healthy obese and non-obese white and black children, aged 8 to 18. They found that most of them were vitamin D deficient. Low levels of vitamin D were associated with higher body mass index and fat levels, and lower levels of “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

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Among those with vitamin D deficiency, white children were more likely to have higher levels of fat between their internal organs (visceral adipose tissue), while black children were more likely to have higher levels of fat just under the skin (subcutaneous adipose tissue), the investigators found.

The study is published in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

“Vitamin D deficiency is rampant in American youth, and there is some suggestion in adults that low levels of vitamin D may be playing a role in the increasing rates of type 2 diabetes. It is possible the same may be true for youth with type 2 diabetes,” lead author Dr. Silva Arslanian, of the University of Pittsburgh, said in a news release from the Endocrine Society.

“Besides therapeutic interventions to correct the high rates of vitamin D deficiency in youth, benefits of vitamin D optimization on fat levels, lipid [blood fat] profile and risk of type 2 diabetes need to be explored,” Arslanian added.

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By Elizabeth Landau and Madison Park, CNN

Nuclear power has generally proved safe and nondetrimental to human health. But when something goes wrong, it can result in widespread radioactive exposure and health hazards that turn an average power plant into a notorious name like Chernobyl.

The levels of radiation and potential health consequences were significantly worse at Chernobyl than at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, which has has suffered numerous problems since Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. .

The two accidents are not in the same realm, experts said.

On Monday, a hydrogen blast at at the Fukushima Daiichi plant injured 11 people and caused another reactor to malfunction, triggering new fears of a meltdown that could leak dangerous amounts of nuclear radiation.

As many as 160 people have tested positive for some level of radiation in the area. And 17 U.S. Navy helicopter crew members showed low levels of radioactivity after conducting disaster relief missions in Japan, the military said Monday. But after the crew members washed with soap and water, no further contamination was detected, the Navy said.

Radiation levels at the moment are low, but the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical, said David Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University.

As the public remains nervous about what will happen at the plant, it’s important to keep in perspective the kinds of radiation that people are exposed to every day, and understand the real risks of too much radiation.

“I’m now concerned that we’ll go into another nuclear winter, with public opinion turning against nuclear power,” said Dr. James Thrall, president of the American College of Radiology and chief of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. “If you look at nuclear power objectively, it actually has fewer health consequences than any energy production with fossil fuels.”

Contamination vs. exposure

Radiation is invisible; you cannot taste it, or smell it, or feel it on your fingers, Thrall said.

There are four primary kinds of ionizing radiation, which is light that has enough energy to ionize an atom, i.e. make it into a charged particle. Alpha particles are relatively heavy and, when emitted, cannot penetrate human skin or clothing, but are harmful if they get into the body otherwise. Beta radiation can cause skin injury and are also harmful to the body internally. Gamma and X-rays are high-energy invisible light that can damage tissue and are most hazardous to humans.

It’s not possible to directly measure the amount of radiation exposure a person has had. Exposure refers to the energy the body has absorbed from radioactive material, the high-energy invisible light rays that unstable chemicals emit.

Radiation all around us

A study from the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement found that nearly half of the radiation to which the U.S. population is exposed comes from medical sources such as CT scans, X-rays, and nuclear medicine, which is the use of radioactive chemicals in the treatment and diagnosis of health conditions. But there’s also radiation coming from the sun, stars and soil.

The average radiation exposure a person gets from natural sources is about 3.1 millisieverts; in the United States, a person typically gets a total of 6.2 millisieverts because of medical diagnostic procedures and other man-made sources of radiation. The limit for occupational radiation exposure among workers who deal with radioactive material is 50 millisieverts.

To give you a sense of what that means, a chest X-ray delivers a dose of about .02 millisieverts, and a CT to the abdomen carries 8 millisieverts. But note that these procedures don’t last very long; prolonged exposure would be more dangerous.

The farther away you are from the source of radiation, the less exposure you will have to damaging high-energy light beams such as gamma rays.

Radiation sickness

Generally, the greater exposure you’ve had, the faster and more intense the symptoms of radiation sickness will be.

Nausea and vomiting are usually the initial symptoms of radiation sickness. A very severe exposure can lead to them within 10 minutes; dizziness, weakness, and low blood pressure may begin immediately. If the radiation exposure is mild, a person might not start experiencing these symptoms for up to six hours. Check out this Mayo Clinic chart, under “symptoms” for more information about how various levels of radiation might affect a person.

The simple removal of clothes and shoes eliminates about 90% of external radiation contamination, according to the Mayo Clinic, and washing with soap and water takes radiation off the skin. This lowers your risk of breathing or ingesting radiation particles, or having them get into open wounds.

There may be damage to bone marrow, which can be treated with a protein called granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Transfusions of red blood cells or blood platelets may also be necessary.

When there’s a possibility of internal organs being damaged from radiation exposure, there are some treatments for specific types of radiation.

Radioactive iodine, which is hazardous to humans, is one of the biproducts of the chemical reaction involving uranium that takes place at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Since the thyroid is prone to taking up radioactive iodine, people at risk of this problem can benefit from potassium iodide, which contains the stable component of iodine. Potassium iodide can protect the thyroid from damage. The Japanese government is currently working to distribute potassium iodide to residents near the reactors.

There is also a type of dye called Prussian blue that binds to the radioactive particles of cesium and thalium, reducing the amount of radiation that cells may absorb, according to the Mayo Clinic. A chemical called diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid binds to radioactive particles of plutonium, americium and curium.

The shadows of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island

In Chernobyl, the world’s biggest nuclear accident, which occurred in 1986, 28 workers and firefighters died from radiation sickness months after they helped put out the fire.

Radioactive iodine also allegedly got into the general population through milk, Thrall said. This likely happened when milk-producing cows ate iodine-contaminated grass, he said.

Cancer can take decades to appear as a result of radiation exposure, and epidemiological studies have found an increased risk of cancer in people who were near Chernobyl at the time of the disaster.

The Japan situation probably won’t get to the scale of Chernobyl, but it could be bigger than Three Mile Island, said. Three Mile Island is a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania that, 32 years ago, had the worst nuclear power accident in the United States. But in the U.S. crisis, there was only a partial meltdown, and nuclear fuel never escaped the reactor vessels. There has been no evidence found of resulting long-term cancer risk in that area.

“At the levels that we’re seeing in Japan I do not believe we’ll see anycancer risk in the population,” Thrall said.

How it differs from an atomic bomb

There is a big difference between the effects of the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II and possible spread of nuclear radiation from malfunctioning nuclear power plants, said Dr. John D. Boice, a radiation epidemiologist and scientific director of the International Epidemiology Institute.

In 1945, Americans dropped bombs in parachutes, and these detonated above the city — not on the ground.

“The atomic bomb — it was whole body exposure that lasted less than a second,” he said. The radiation traveled through the body, similarly to how X-rays behave.

“The effects may be different, because it was such an immediate response,” Boice said. “For the reactors, it’s different. It’s a gradual exposure over time. It might include radioactive elements such as iodine and cesium, which may be ingested.”

Radioactive iodine can cause thyroid problems and cancers, and cesium can also increase cancer risk. If leaking occurs, the population could breathe or ingest contaminated foods with radioactive elements.

“These are different types of exposure — they would involve the possibility of ingestion and staying in the body.”

The effects of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings have been followed through the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, a joint U.S.-Japan effort to study the impact. Studies found survivors had higher rates of leukemia and cancers in the breast, thyroid, lung, colon and stomach over time.

And today in Japan

Boice said he was concerned about workers who are having to deal with the emergency and work in a highly volatile situation at Fukushima Daiichi.

“They’re dealing with the deaths of friends and families — then to add on top of that, there is the possibility of a serious nuclear meltdown,” Boice said. “How much can one country, one civilization bear?”

Resources: CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen and Sabriya Rice contributed to this report.04-peaches-and-cream

View Poly-MVA published research articles on the Protective effects of Poly-MVA during Radiation Exposure.

Click here- http://www.polymva4doctors.com/radiation_protection.html#a

View live on the web:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/03/14/japan.radiation.sickness/index.html?hpt=T1

The article below suggest that antioxidants will assist with cancer treatments. AMARC feels it’s important to view both sides of this ongoing argument and examine new research coming forth. This article was posted on February 15, 2011 by the Jefferson Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University.“For the first time, the researchers show that loss of the tumor suppressor protein Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) induces mitochondrial oxidative stress in the stromal micro-environment, a process that fuels cancer cells in most common types of breast cancer. View 5 Poly-MVA published research articles on “Clinical Studies supporting the use of Antioxidants 
during Chemotherapy and Radiation.” visit http://www.polymva4doctors.com/antioxidants.html#a To find out more about how Poly-MVA can assist you with your optimum health goals, visit http://www.polymva.com/about-poly-mva.html.

Jefferson researchers provide genetic evidence that antioxidants can help treat cancer?

PHILADELPHIA—Researchers from Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center have genetic evidence suggesting the antioxidant drugs currently used to treat lung disease, malaria and even the common cold can also help prevent and treat cancers because they fight against mitochondrial oxidative stress—a culprit in driving tumor growth.

For the first time, the researchers show that loss of the tumor suppressor protein Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) induces mitochondrial oxidative stress in the stromal micro-environment, a process that fuels cancer cells in most common types of breast cancer.

“Now we have genetic proof that mitochondrial oxidative stress is important for driving tumor growth,” said lead researcher Michael P. Lisanti, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cancer biology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and member of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. “This means we need to make anti-cancer drugs that specially target this type of oxidative stress. And there are already antioxidant drugs out there on the market as dietary supplements, like N-acetyl cysteine.”

These findings were published in the online February 15 issue of Cancer Biology & Therapy.

Lisanti’s lab previously discovered Cav-1 as a biomarker that functions as a tumor suppressor and is the single strongest predictor of breast cancer patient outcome. For example, if a woman has triple negative breast cancer and is Cav-1 positive in the stroma, her survival is greater than 75 percent at 12 years, versus less than 10 percent at 5 years if she doesn’t have the Cav-1 protein, according to Dr. Lisanti.

The researchers also established Cav-1’s role in oxidative stress and tumor growth; however, where that stress originates and its mechanism(s) were unclear.

To determine this, Jefferson researchers applied a genetically tractable model for human cancer associated fibroblasts in this study using a targeted sh-RNA knock-down approach. Without the Cav-1 protein, researchers found that oxidative stress in cancer associated fibroblasts leads to mitochondrial dysfunction in stromal fibroblasts. In this context, oxidative stress and the resulting autophagy (producton of recycled nutrients) in the tumor-microenvironment function as metabolic energy or “food” to “fuel” tumor growth.

The researchers report that the loss of Cav-1 increases mitochondrial oxidative stress in the tumor stroma, increasing both tumor mass and tumor volume by four-fold, without any increase in tumor angiogenesis.

“Antioxidants have been associated with cancer reducing effects—beta carotene, for example—but the mechanisms, the genetic evidence, has been lacking,” Dr. Lisanti said. “This study provides the necessary genetic evidence that reducing oxidative stress in the body will decrease tumor growth.”

Currently, anti-cancer drugs targeting oxidative stress are not used because is it commonly thought they will reduce the effectiveness of certain chemotherapies, which increase oxidative stress.

“We are not taking advantage of the available drugs that reduce oxidative stress and autophagy, including metformin, chloroquine and N-acetyl cysteine,” Dr. Lisanti said. “Now that we have genetic proof that oxidative stress and resulting autophagy are important for driving tumor growth, we should re-consider using antioxidants and autophagy inhibitors as anti-cancer agents.”

The diabetic drug metformin and chloroquine, which is used for the prevention and treatment of malaria, prevent a loss of Cav-1 in cancer associated fibroblasts (which is due to oxidative stress), functionally cutting off the fuel supply to cancer cells.

This research also has important implications for understanding the pathogenesis of triple negative and tamoxifen-resistance in ER-positive breast caner patients, as well as other epithelial cancers, such as prostate cancers.

“Undoubtedly, this new genetically tractable system for cancer associated fibroblasts will help identify other key genetic ‘factors’ that can block tumor growth,” Dr. Lisanti said.

View 5 Poly-MVA published research articles on “Clinical Studies supporting the use of Antioxidants 
during Chemotherapy and Radiation.” http://www.polymva4doctors.com/antioxidants.html#a

Reference: Thomas Jefferson University. Jefferson Kimmel Cancer Center. Jefferson researchers provide genetic evidence that antioxidants can help treat cancer: 2011 February 15.

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http://www.sciencecodex.com/jefferson_researchers_provide_genetic_evidence_that_antioxidants_can_help_treat_cancer

BOSTON — Cancer patients, brace yourselves. Many new drug treatments cost nearly $100,000 a year, sparking fresh debate about how much a few months more of life is worth.

The latest is Provenge, a first-of-a-kind therapy approved in April. It costs $93,000 and adds four months’ survival, on average, for men with incurable prostate tumors. Bob Svensson is honest about why he got it: insurance paid.

“I would not spend that money,” because the benefit doesn’t seem worth it, says Svensson, 80, a former corporate finance officer from Bedford, Mass. His supplemental Medicare plan is paying while the government decides whether basic Medicare will cover Provenge and for whom. The tab fortaxpayers could be huge - prostate is the most common cancer in American men. Most of those who have it will be eligible for Medicare, and Provenge will be an option for many late-stage cases. A meeting to consider Medicare coverage is set for Nov. 17.

“I don’t know how they’re going to deal with that kind of issue,” said Svensson, who was treated at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center in suburban Boston. “I feel very lucky.”

For the last decade, new cancer-fighting drugs have been topping $5,000 a month. Only a few of these keep cancer in remission so long that theyare, in effect, cures. For most people, the drugs may buy a few months or years. Insurers usually pay if Medicare pays. But some people have lifetime caps and more people are uninsured because of job layoffs in the recession. The nation’s new health care law eliminates these lifetime limits for plans that were issued or renewed on Sept. 23 or later.

Celgene Corp.’s Revlimid pill for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, can run as much as $10,000 a month; so can Genentech’s Avastin forcertain cancers. Now Dendreon Corp.’s Provenge rockets price into a new orbit. Unlike drugs that people can try for amonth or two and keep using only if they keep responding, Provenge is an all-or-nothing $93,000 gamble. It’s a one-time treatment to train the immune system to fight prostate tumors, the first so-called “cancer vaccine.” Part of why it costs so much is that it’s not a pill cranked out in a lab, but a treatment that is individually prepared, using each patient’s cells and a protein found on most prostate cancer cells. It is expensive and time-consuming to make.

It’s also in short supply, forcing the first rationing of a cancer drug since Taxol and Taxotere were approved 15 years ago. At the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, doctors plan a modified lottery to decide which of its 150 or so eligible patients will be among the two a month it can treat with Provenge. An insurance pre-check is part of the process to ensure they financially qualify for treatment.

“I’m fearful that this will become a drug for people with more resources and less available for people with less resources,” said M.D. Anderson’s prostate cancer research chief, Dr. Christopher Logothetis.

For other patients on other drugs, money already is affecting care:

-Job losses have led some people to stop taking Gleevec, a $4,500-a-month drug by Novartis AG that keeps certain leukemias and stomach cancers in remission. Three such cases were recently described in the New England Journal of Medicine, and all those patients suffered relapses.

-Retirements are being delayed to preserve insurance coverage of cancer drugs. Holly Reid, 58, an accountant in Novato, Calif., hoped to retire early until she tried cutting back on Gleevec and her cancer recurred. “I’m convinced now I have to take this drug for the rest of my life” and will have to work until eligible for Medicare, she said.

-Lifetime caps on insurance benefits are hitting many patients, and laws are being pushed in dozens of states to get wider coverage of cancer drugs. In Quincy, Mass., 30-year-old grad student Thea Showstack testified for one such law after pharmacists said her first cancer prescription exceeded her student insurance limit. “They said ‘OK, that will be $1,900,’” she said. “I was absolutely panicked.” The federal health care law forbids such caps on plans issued or renewed Sept. 23or later.

-Tens of thousands of people are seeking help from drug companies and charities that provide free medicines or cover copays for low-income patients. Genentech’s aid to patients has risen in each of the last three years and the company says nearly 85 percent of Americans earn less than $100,000, making them potentially eligible for help if no other programs like Medicaid will pay.

-Doctors and insurers increasingly are doing the cruel math that many cancer patients want to avoid, and questioning how much small improvements in survival are worth. A recent editorial in a medical journal asked whether the extra 11 weeks that Genentech’s Herceptin buys for stomach cancer patients justified the $21,500 cost.

Doctors also have questioned the value of Genentech’s Tarceva for pancreatic cancer. The $4,000-a-month drug won approval by boosting median survival by a mere 12 days. Here’s how to think about this cost: People who added Tarceva to standard chemotherapy lived nearly 6 1/2 months, versus 6 months for those on chemo alone. So the Tarceva folks spent more than $24,000 to get those extra 12 days.

When is a drug considered cost-effective?

The most widely quoted figure is $50,000 for a year of life, “though it has been that for decades - never really adjusted - and not written in stone,” said Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a Yale University expert on health care costs.

Many cancer drugs are way over that mark. Estimates of the cost of a year of life gained for lung cancer patients on Erbitux range from $300,000 to as much as $800,000, said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the American Cancer Society’s deputy chief medical officer.

Higher costs seem to be more accepted for cancer treatment than for other illnesses, but there’s no rule on how much is too much, he said.

Insurers usually are the ones to decide, and they typically pay if Medicare pays. Medicare usually pays if the federal Food and Drug Administration has approved the use.

“Insurance sort of isolates you from the cost of health care,” and if people lose coverage, they often discover they can’t afford their medicines, said Dr. Alan Venook, a cancer specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. He wrote in the New England Journal in August about three of his patients who stopped taking or cut back on Gleevec because of economic hardship.

Two of the three now are getting the drug from its maker, Novartis AG, which like most pharmaceutical companies has a program for low-income patients. About 5,000 patients got help for Gleevec last year, said Novartis spokesman Geoffrey Cook.

“We have seen a steady increase in requests over the past few years” as the economy worsened, he said.

Showstack, whose leukemia was diagnosed last year, gets Gleevec from Novartis. The dose she’s on now would cost $50,000 a year.

“I’m not actually sure that I know anyone who could afford it,” she said.

Gleevec’s cost is easier to justify, many say, because it keeps people alive indefinitely - a virtual cure. About 2,300 Americans died each year of Showstack’s form of leukemia before Gleevec came on the market; only 470 did last year.

“I don’t think we quibble with a drug that buys people magical quality of life for years,” Venook said.

It’s unclear whether Provenge will ever do that - it needs to be tested in men with earlier stages of prostate cancer, doctors say. So far, it has only been tried and approved for men with incurable disease who have stopped responding to hormone therapy. On average, it gave them four months more, though for some it extended survival by a year or more.

Until it shows wider promise, enthusiasm will be tepid, said Dr. Elizabeth Plimack a prostate specialist at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

“I’ve not had any patient ask for it,” she said. “They ask about it. Based on the information, they think the cost is tremendous, and they think the benefit is very small.”

Logothetis, at M.D. Anderson, said Provenge and other experimental cancer vaccines in development need “a national investment” to sort out their potential, starting with Medicare coverage.

“It’s no longer a fringe science. This is working,” he said. “We need to get it in the door so we can evolve it.”

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Online:

Where to get help:

-Genentech: http://www.GenentechAccessSolutions.com/

-Novartis: http://www.patientassistancenow.com/

-Patient Advocate Foundation, 800-532-5274http://www.patientadvocate.org/

-CancerCare, 866-552-6729 http://www.cancercarecopay.org/

-Chronic Disease Fund, 877-968-7233 http://www.cdfund.org/

-Healthwell Foundation, 800-675-8416http://www.healthwellfoundation.org/

-Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 877-557-2672 http://www.LLS.org/copay

-National Organization for Rare Disorders 800-999-6673http://www.rarediseases.org/

-Patient Access Network Foundation, 866-316-7263http://www.panfoundation.org/

-Patient Advocate Foundation, 866-512-3861 http://www.copays.org/

-Patient Services, Inc., 800-366-7741 http://www.patientservicesinc.org/

The Associated Press

Link to original article-http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/sep/26/93000-cancer-drug-how-much-is-a-life-worth/