Vitamin C boosts chemotherapy
A new study suggests giving some cancer patients high doses of vitamin C intravenously — as opposed to orally — alongside conventional chemotherapy, may help kill cancer cells and also reduce some of its toxic side effects. Reporting their findings in Science Translational Medicine, researchers from the University of Kansas (KU) Medical Center describe how they tested the approach in cells, animals and humans. They found giving infused vitamin C together with carboplatin and paclitaxel — two conventional chemotherapy drugs — stopped ovarian cancer in the lab and also reduced toxic side effects of chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients.
Fruit juice and risk of diabetes
Prof Naveed Sattar and Dr Jason Gill, from the University of Glasgow, said that drinking more than just one glass a day of fruit juice can lead to an increased risk of diabetes. They have also argued that fruit juices should not be included in the current five-a-day guidelines as high intake is “counter-productive” to a healthy lifestyle. Sattar said: “Fruit juice has a similar energy density and sugar content to other sugary drinks. For example, 250ml of apple juice typically contains 110 kcal and 26g of sugar, and 250ml of cola typically contains 105kcal and 26.5g of sugar. By contrast with the evidence for solid fruit intake, for which high consumption is associated with reduced or neutral risk of diabetes, current evidence suggests high fruit juice intake is associated with increased risk of diabetes.”
women face higher stroke risk
Women of all ages should pay more attention to the risk of stroke than the average man, watching their blood pressure carefully even before they think about taking birth control pills or getting pregnant, according to a new set of guidelines. Women are also more likely to have risk factors associated with stroke, such as migraines, depression, diabetes and abnormal heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation. The new guidelines from the American Heart Association were the first such recommendations to prevent strokes in women. Stroke is the fourth-leading cause of death for all Americans but the third-leading cause of death for women, after heart disease and cancer. Women share many of the same risk factors as men for stroke, but they also have unique risks that come with pregnancy complications and hormone use.