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Low Caloric Intake Associated with Reduced Breast Cancer Incidence

This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Brigham and Women’s Hospital web site and may be viewed at http://www.brighamandwomens.org/publicaffairs

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital ("BWH") in Boston, Massachusetts have successfully tested in humans a long-standing observation made in the animal model: that restricting caloric intake could help reduce the risk of breast cancer. The study, conducted in collaboration with researchers from Stockholm, Sweden, also found that low caloric intake among women who go on to have children appears to be associated with an even more pronounced reduction in risk. The study appears in the March 10, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States, with one in eight women faced with the risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime. The number of new cases of breast cancer has increased by one percent per year in the United States since the 1940s.

According to lead author Karin B. Michels, ScD, MSc, MPH of BWH and associate professor at Harvard Medical School (HMS), “These scientific findings are encouraging as they will help researchers better understand the underlying physiology responsible for breast cancer development. Our observations indicate that breast cancer may originate during the early phases of a woman’s life, from puberty to early adulthood, and that diet during this phase may be important to reduce future risk of breast cancer.”

Prior to beginning this study, Michels and her colleague Anders Ekbom, MD, PhD, professor at Karolinska Hospital, Sweden, hypothesized that reduced caloric intake during adolescence or early adulthood would provide breast health benefits. Their assumption was based on findings made repeatedly in rodents: restricting caloric intake is one of the most effective ways to reduce cancer incidence and extend lifespan in the animal model. Since such experimental conditions cannot be applied to humans, a model had to be found to mimic caloric restriction in humans. Hence, this epidemiologic study targeted a population of 7,303 women from the Swedish Inpatient Registry who severely reduced caloric intake while suffering from severe anorexia nervosa prior to age 40, between the years 1965 and 1998. Information on these women was cross-referenced with the Swedish Fertility Registry that has information on every birth in Sweden since 1924 and the Swedish Cancer Registry, which registers all new cancer cases in Sweden.

Vitamin E Supplements Stem Development of Hallmark Alzheimer’s Symptoms in Mice When Given Early

This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Pennsylvania Health Systems Office of Public Affairs and may be viewed at http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases

University of Pennsylvania Health Systems in Philadelphia announced new findings regarding Vitamin E, a well-known antioxidant, used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, but with mixed results, especially in patients with advanced symptoms.

Domenico Praticò, M.D., assistant professor of pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and colleagues tested the idea that timing of vitamin E supplementation for treating Alzheimer’s might be an important factor in its effectiveness. They found that vitamin E given to young transgenic mice before the formation of telltale plaques reduces by up to half the levels of amyloid deposited in the brain over time compared to aged mice on the same regimen. This study appears in the February edition of The FASEB Journal.

“Our findings indicate that an antioxidant is important to cure or prevent disease only if given at a very early stage,” says Praticò. “If given when the disease is already established the chances of a positive effect are very small.”

The immediate implications of these findings are simple, especially for patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a possible precursor to Alzheimer’s: Start taking vitamin E early. “They will benefit the most,” says Praticò. “ Considering that up to 50 percent of patients with MCI will develop Alzheimer’s within four years, and the fact that recent epidemiological studies have clearly shown that intake of antioxidants, in particular vitamin E, lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s, MCI patients will be the most appropriate target for this therapy.”

The National Institutes of Health, The Alzheimer Association, and the American Heart Association funded this study.

Catherine Saar