Prostate Cancer Symptoms Tips What is prostate cancer symptoms? We have tips about prostate cancer symptoms

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Loneliness is no fun — and now it appears it's bad for you as well. UCLA researchers report that chronically lonely people may be at higher risk for certain types of inflammatory disease because their feelings of social isolation trigger the activity of pro-inflammatory immune cells.

In their analysis of 93 older adults, the researchers screened for gene function among different types of immune cells and found that genes originating from two particular cell types — plasmacytoid dendritic cells and monocytes — were overexpressed in chronically lonely individuals, compared with the remainder of the sample. These cell types produce an inflammatory response to tissue damage, and are part of the immune system's first line of defense, which produces an immediate inflammatory response to tissue damage.

It's this same inflammatory response that, over the long-term, can promote cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurodegeneration.

It is widely known that fruit contains antioxidants which may be beneficial to health. New research published in the open access journal Chemistry Central Journal demonstrates that chocolate is a rich source of antioxidants and contains more polyphenols and flavanols than fruit juice.

When researchers at the Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition™ compared the antioxidant activity in cocoa powder and fruit powders they found that, gram per gram, there was more antioxidant capacity, and a greater total flavanol content, in the cocoa powder.

Similarly when they compared the amount of antioxidants, per serving, of dark chocolate, cocoa, hot chocolate mix and fruit juices they found that both dark chocolate and cocoa had a greater antioxidant capacity and a greater total flavanol, and polyphenol, content than the fruit juices. However hot chocolate, due to processing (alkalization) of the chocolate, contained little of any.

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People who spend more time in the sun and those with higher vitamin D levels may be less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published in the February 8, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. MS is a chronic disease of the brain and spinal cord, usually with recurrent flare-ups of symptoms. It is often preceded by a first episode (or event) of similar symptoms lasting days to weeks.

"Previous studies have found similar results, but this is the first study to look at people who have just had the first symptoms of MS and haven't even been diagnosed with the disease yet," said study author Robyn Lucas, PhD, of Australian National University in Canberra. "Other studies have looked at people who already have MS—then it's hard to know whether having the disease led them to change their habits in the sun or in their diet."

The multi-site study involved 216 people age 18 to 59 who had a first event with symptoms of the type seen in MS. Those people were matched with 395 people with no symptoms of possible MS who were of similar ages, of the same sex and from the same regions of Australia.

The participants reported how much sun they were exposed to during different periods of their lives, and researchers also measured the amount of skin damage participants had from sun exposure and the amount of melanin in their skin. Vitamin D levels (from sun exposure, diet and supplement use) were measured by blood tests.

The risk of having a first event, diagnosed by a doctor, ranged from approximately two to nine new cases for every 100,000 people per year in this study. The reported UV light exposure of participants ranged from about 500 to over 6,000 kilojoules per meter squared. The researchers found that the risk of having a diagnosed first event decreased by 30 percent for each UV increase of 1,000 kilojoules. They also found that people with most evidence of skin damage from sun exposure were 60 percent less likely to develop a first event than the people with the least damage. People with the highest levels of vitamin D also were less likely to have a diagnosed first event than people with the lowest levels.

Studies have shown that MS is more common in latitudes further away from the equator, and this has been confirmed in Australia.

"Added together, the differences in sun exposure, vitamin D levels and skin type accounted for a 32-percent increase in a diagnosed first event from the low to the high latitude regions of Australia," Lucas said.

Lucas noted that the effects of sun exposure and vitamin D acted independently of each other on the risk of first event. "Further research should evaluate both sun exposure and vitamin D for the prevention of MS," Lucas said.

Lucas also stated that people should continue to limit their sun exposure due to skin cancer risks. She also noted that the risks of tanning beds far outweigh any possible protective effect against MS. Exposure to the sun has not been shown to benefit people who already have MS.

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In time for the chocolate-giving and chocolate-noshing fest on Valentine's Day, scientists are reporting discovery of how this treat boosts the body's production of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) — the "good" form of cholesterol that protects against heart disease. Just as those boxes of chocolates get hearts throbbing and mouths watering, polyphenols in chocolate rev up the activity of certain proteins, including proteins that attach to the genetic material DNA in ways that boost HDL levels. Their report appears in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, one of 39 peer-reviewed scientific journals published by the American Chemical Society.

Midori Natsume, Ph.D., and colleagues note that studies have shown that cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, appears to reduce the risk of heart disease by boosting levels of HDL, or "good" cholesterol, and decreasing levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol. Credit for those heart-healthy effects goes to a cadre of antioxidant compounds in cocoa called polyphenols, which are particularly abundant in dark chocolate. Until now, however, nobody knew exactly how the polyphenols in cocoa orchestrated those beneficial effects.

The scientists analyzed the effects of cocoa polyphenols on cholesterol using cultures of human liver and intestinal cells. They focused on the production of apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), a protein that is the major component of "good" cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B (ApoB), the main component of "bad" cholesterol. It turns out that cocoa polyphenols increased ApoA1 levels and decreased ApoB levels in both the liver and intestine. Further, the scientists discovered that the polyphenols seem to work by enhancing the activity of so-called sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs). SREBPs attach to the genetic material DNA and activate genes that boost ApoA1 levels, increasing "good" cholesterol. The scientists also found that polyphenols appear to increase the activity of LDL receptors, proteins that help lower "bad" cholesterol levels.

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Here is a Valentine's Day sampler of other recent research on the health benefits chocolate published in ACS journals:

New evidence that dark chocolate helps ease emotional stress
Natural ACE inhibitors in chocolate, wine and tea may help lower blood pressure

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New research from Warwick Medical School published today in the European Heart Journal shows that prolonged sleep deprivation and disrupted sleep patterns can have long-term, serious health implications. Leading academics from the University have linked lack of sleep to strokes, heart attacks and cardiovascular disorders which often result in early death.

Professor Francesco Cappuccio from the University of Warwick Medical School, explained: "If you sleep less than six hours per night and have disturbed sleep you stand a 48 per cent greater chance of developing or dying from heart disease and a 15 per cent greater chance of developing or dying of a stroke.

"The trend for late nights and early mornings is actually a ticking time bomb for our health so you need to act now to reduce your risk of developing these life-threatening conditions."

Professor Cappuccio and co-author Dr Michelle Miller, from the University of Warwick, conducted the research programme which followed up evidence from seven to 25 years from more than 470,000 participants from eight countries including Japan, USA, Sweden and UK.

Professor Cappuccio explained: "There is an expectation in today's society to fit more into our lives. The whole work/life balance struggle is causing too many of us to trade in precious sleeping time to ensure we complete all the jobs we believe are expected of us."

He added: "But in doing so, we are significantly increasing the risk of suffering a stroke or developing cardiovascular disease resulting in, for example, heart attacks."

Dr Miller explained further: "Chronic short sleep produces hormones and chemicals in the body which increase the risk of developing heart disease and strokes, and other conditions like high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes and obesity".

But Professor Cappuccio did warn of the implications of going too far the other way, as sleeping overly long – more than nine hours at a stretch – may be an indicator of illness, including cardiovascular disease.

"By ensuring you have about seven hours sleep a night, you are protecting your future health, and reducing the risk of developing chronic illnesses. The link is clear from our research: get the sleep you need to stay healthy and live longer."

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An inadequate amount of sleep has been associated with higher risks of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and death. Now colon cancer can be added to the list.

In a ground-breaking new study published in the Feb. 15, 2011 issue of the journal Cancer, researchers from University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, found that individuals who averaged less than six hours of sleep at night had an almost 50 percent increase in the risk of colorectal adenomas compared with individuals sleeping at least seven hours per night. Adenomas are a precursor to cancer tumors, and left untreated, they can turn malignant.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to report a significant association of sleep duration and colorectal adenomas," said Li Li, MD, PhD, the study's principal investigator, family medicine physician in the Department of Family Medicine at UH Case Medical Center and Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "A short amount of sleep can now be viewed as a new risk factor for the development of the development of colon cancer."

In the study, patients were surveyed by phone prior to coming into the hospital for scheduled colonoscopies at UH Case Medical Center. They were asked demographic information as well as questions from the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which obtains information about the patient's overall sleep quality during the past month. The PSQI asks for such information as how frequently one has trouble sleeping and how much sleep one has had per night. The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute through Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Of the 1,240 patients, 338 were diagnosed with colorectal adenomas at their colonoscopy. The patients with adenomas were found in general to have reported sleeping less than six hours compared to compared to those patients without adenomas (control) patients, and the association between amount of sleep and adenomas remained even when adjusted for family history, smoking, and waist-to-hip ratio (a measurement of obesity).

The researchers also found a slightly stronger association of sleep duration with adenomas with women compared to men, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Dr Li said the magnitude of the increase in risk due to less hours of sleep is comparable to the risk associated with having a first-degree relative (parent or sibling) with colon cancer, as well as with high, red meat intake. "Short sleep duration is a public health hazard leading not only to obesity, diabetes and coronary heart disease, but also, as we now have shown in this study, colon adenomas," he said. "Effective intervention to increase duration of sleep and improve quality of sleep could be an under-appreciated avenue for prevention of colorectal cancer."

Although why fewer hours of sleep may lead to colon cancer is unknown, Dr. Li said some of theories include that less sleep may mean less production of melatonin, a natural hormone that in animals has been linked to DNA repair, or that insulin resistance may underlie the link between sleep disturbance and cancer development.

Ken Steliga was treated for prostate cancer at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center by David I. Lee, MD, the chief of the division of urology at Penn Presbyterian. Ken's son was also treated for prostate cancer by Dr. Lee. Now, Ken counsels men who have been newly diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Like son, like father

Following a biopsy last November, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I suspected that the diagnosis was inevitable, because my son had been treated for prostate cancer less than a year earlier. I figured it was coming, and it did. I made a decision to have minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery by David I. Lee, MD, the same surgeon who operated on my son.

My son, Tim, was diagnosed at 48. I was diagnosed at 71. It’s unusual for a father to be diagnosed with prostate cancer after the son. It usually happens the other way around, but it helped me a great deal. Tim had already done all the “dirty work.” He did all the research, and that made it much easier for me.

Making an informed decision

Tim had looked at the options. It did not seem logical to have other therapies when I could get rid of the cancer once and for all. The robotic surgery made a lot more sense to me. With the two-inch incision and five small holes, I refer to my scars as “body piercing without the hardware.”

That being said, it still was an anxious moment. It’s a very serious thing. I tried to be somewhat positive. Being light-hearted about it helped me go through with the surgery. It gave me a refreshed attitude and outlook.

A positive treatment experience and recovery

The care I received at Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center was excellent, and the experience was very positive. I’m a ‘type A’ personality. I’m not one to be very complimentary, and I have not always had positive health care experiences in the past. Yet, from the time that I entered the hospital, it was a very positive experience. The care that I received was excellent. It changed my opinions about health care professionals, and changed my opinion about hospitals.

It started with admissions, and the woman that admitted me was not only thorough and efficient, but she was positive and left me with very good feelings. Then, when I got up to the floor where I was prepared for the surgery, everybody that I met was positive. I was awake at the beginning in the operating room. I had a chance to chat with the men that were in there, and I could just tell by their attitudes that they were very caring. After surgery, the caring atmosphere continued to prevail. Based on my interactions with the nurses on my floor, it was apparent that they were out for my best interest and they wanted the best care for me.

The experience was very positive for me, but I realized that this is a very sensitive issue with men. They don’t like to talk about a lot of things, especially when it pertains to their sexuality. Men don’t want to talk about many of the aspects of having this type of operation. They have a lot of fears and preconceived notions about what they hear from other men. Unfortunately, a lot of it is very negative. I found that passing on my positive experience could be very helpful to other men facing this disease.

Helping other men diagnosed with prostate cancer

My positive experience is also why I have agreed to meet with Dr. Lee’s physician assistant in the pre-op classes given once a month at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. I try to indicate to the men who are about to undergo surgery that it’s not as bad as they may think. With my positive experience, I feel very blessed and fortunate that I had this experience and I would like to see other men also have a good, positive experience.