SHR

A new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators demonstrates that vitamin D can protect some people with colorectal cancer by perking up the immune system's vigilance against tumor cells.

The research, published today by the journal Gut, represents the first time that a link between vitamin D and the immune response to cancer has been shown in a large human population. The finding adds to a growing body of research showing that vitamin D - known as the "sunshine vitamin" because it is produced by the body in response to sunlight exposure - plays a key role in cancer prevention.

American Society of Clinical Oncology Perspective:“In addition to improved survival, high vitamin D levels were associated with a longer time for the cancer to become resistant to chemotherapy, suggesting that vitamin D could slow down the growth of the cancer or enhance the activity of the treatment,” said Smitha S. Krishnamurthi, MD, moderator of today’s presscast and ASCO expert. “Further studies are needed to determine if the improved survival is due to the vitamin D itself or to some other factor associated with having high vitamin D levels.” ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A prospective analysis of data from a phase III study of patients newly diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer indicates that patients with higher vitamin D levels have better outcomes after treatment with chemotherapy and targeted therapy. The median overall survival for patients with the highest vitamin D levels was 32.6 months, compared with 24.5 months for patients with the lowest...

Vitamin D has been shown to effect endothelial tissue and low vitamin D status has been linked to endothelial dysfunction in several studies. Endothelial dysfunction is thought to be the major cause of Erectile Dysfunction (ED). Last month a paper originally published in August of this year by Dr. Alessandra Barassi and colleagues over at the San Paolo Hospital, University of Milan, Italy, appeared in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. They looked at Vitamin D status in a cohort of 143 men diagnosed with clinical ED. Diagnosis and severity of ED was based upon the IEFF-5 assessment score system and men were classified as either arteriogeinc, borderline aretriogenic or non-nrteriogenic using Echo Color Doppler. Doppler readings were take while flaccid and after a single Prostaglandin 1E injection to cause spontaneous erection. This allowed for the Doppler to view a blood-engorged Corpus Cavernosum and classify the men. Both serum 25-OH-D and Parathyroid hormone...

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Dale Bredsen from UCLA. His lab produced a paper that was the culmination of 25 years of research. You see Dr. Bredsen set out 25 years ago to discover the single molecule responsible for causing Alzheimer's disease. What he discovered instead is, just like the human body, it's a lot more complex than that. 

For the first time ever his lab has successfully reversed the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease. This is no small feat. Even though as Dr. Bredsen points out this was a small trial of only 10 participants the results were nothing short of miraculous. No drug company has been successful in uncovering a therapy that will reverse the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease.

One of the things I miss since I've changed the way I eat is Fried Chicken. To be accurate, Kentucky Fried Chicken Extra Crispy! I haven't had it in too many years to count. So while I was in my car several weeks ago I was eating a bag of Quest Protein Chips. I was in a hurry and had just one hand free and decided to expedite the delivery of my delicious chips by crushing the entire bag and pouring the pulverized flakes into my mouth. That's when a light bulb went off in my head. "These pulverized high protein flakes would make a great alternative to traditional fried chicken coating."  So yesterday I gave it a try. I looked to see if I could find the 11 Secret Ingredients that give KFC Chicken that great taste that I missed and I found it. I took two farm fresh boneless...

This is right from the Vitamin D Council website.... While the article is titled "New trial suggest Vitamin D improves quality of life markers in healthy women" when you go to the paper cited it shows that they were really looking for the cardiometabolical protective effects of Vitamin D which are seen in population with high sun exposure... and the study failed to show any. The Vitamin D Council summary of the article states the following in contrast to the headline  "Many observational studies have noted that people with more sun exposure have better cardiovascular health. This includes a more favorable lipid profile, lower blood pressure, and better insulin sensitivity. These benefits have been attributed to increased vitamin D production, but randomized controlled trials (RCT) have had conflicting results regarding the effects of vitamin D supplementation on cardiovascular markers."     Could this be because the RCT's use Vitamin D administered...

So what ever it is.. it's working. Monsanto's 4th quarter earning showed a narrow loss for their end of year report. Their Fiscal Year ended in August.  But don't interpret that as "we are winning". Not at all! According to Reuters News Service:    "Quarterly revenue totaled $2.6 billion, up from $2.2 billion a year ago. Its fourth quarter loss narrowed to $156 million, or 31 cents a share, from $249 million, or 47 cents a share, a year earlier. The most recent quarter included a charge of 4 cents per share related to an environmental settlement. The loss on an ongoing basis was 27 cents a share, slightly worse than the 24 cent loss that analysts expected, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S." This isn't all rosey for those of us who want to see Monsanto sucumb to the pressures of a society who do not want more FrankenFood!...

The United States and Canada are still allowing air travel from the nations of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia where the Ebola epidemic is centered. About 150 people each day fly from those three countries to the US. Meanwhile South Africa and a host of other African countries have closed off flights from the three West African countries, but the United States and Canada have not. What's wrong with this picture? If our government really wanted to protect its people why are we still allowing these passengers in? Why hasn't the CDC ordered a lock-down?  As I write this is was just announced that a Sudanese man just died in Germany of Ebola. Government better move fast to block passengers arriving from known hotbeds of the Ebola virus before they put more of thew world at risk. Its the minimum they can do to protect the citizens they were hired to...

Vitamin D deficiency is linked with advanced stages of liver cancer and may be an indicator of a poor prognosis, according to a study of 200 patients with the disease who were followed for an average of 46 weeks. Blood levels of vitamin D negatively correlated with stages of the disease, and patients with severe vitamin D deficiency had more than a 2-fold increased risk of dying during the study, according to Dr. Oliver Waidmann, senior author of the Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics study. Referrence: Severe 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency identifies a poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma - aprospective cohort study. 2014 May;39(10):1204-12. doi: 10.1111/apt.12731. Epub 2014 Mar 29.