News
New breath test to detect vitamin B12 deficiency
28 June 2011
US research team has developed a simple, non-invasive, low-cost breath test which can more accurately measure vitamin B12 status.
03 February 2014
A follow-up study from Finland reports that a supplementation of vitamin E had a preventive effect on prostate cancer development in male smokers, which lasted about eight years after the initial trial and resulted in decreased mortality.
The study determined potential long-term effects of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) and beta-carotene on cancer incidence and the risk of all-cause mortality in 25,563 male smokers for 18 years after a large randomized controlled trial (1). The initial ATBC study examined the impact of a supplementation with alpha-tocopherol (50 mg/day), beta-carotene (20 mg/day) or placebo for about six years on cancer incidence in 29,133 male smokers aged 50 to 69 years (2). The follow-up observation showed that the 34% reduction of prostate cancer incidence in men who received vitamin E continued about eight years after the initial trial had ended. In addition, the 16% lower mortality risk from prostate cancer in the vitamin E group was still evident about eight years after the trial. While in the original ATBC study, high dose beta-carotene supplementation significantly increased the risk of developing lung cancer among participants who reported smoking 20 ciga- rettes or more per day, the higher risk related to heavy smoking disappeared within about four years after stopping beta-carotene supplementation. No late effects were observed during the 18-year follow-up.
The researchers commented that although laboratory experiments point to several potential mechanisms for a cancer preventive effect of alpha-tocopherol, its role in prostate carcinogenesis remains unclear. A sub- study within the ATBC study suggested that alpha-tocopherol supplementation decreased serum concen- trations of androstenedione and testosterone, sex hormones thought to be involved in the etiology of pro- state cancer (3). In contrasts to the ATBC study findings, however, other trials supplementing vitamin E as 400 IU daily or every other day have found no beneficial effect on prostate cancer incidence.
The temporal effects of increased lung cancer risk among heavy smoking participants who received high doses of beta-carotene for years, which disappeared after intervention, suggest that beta-carotene seemed to accelerate the growth of already existing very early stage non-recognizable tumors, and argue against a role in initiating lung cancer development. The findings of the ATBC study are inconsistent with smaller lung cancer protective effects of increased beta-carotene intake or blood concentrations observed in prospective epidemiological studies (4). In other randomized controlled trials with smokers and non-smokers, beta- carotene supplementation did not impact lung cancer incidence (5-7).
28 June 2011
US research team has developed a simple, non-invasive, low-cost breath test which can more accurately measure vitamin B12 status.
30 June 2014
A new US study reports that low blood vitamin D levels may increase the chance of developing symptoms of anxiety and depression during early pregnancy.
9 November 2009
High combined intakes of vitamin C and vitamin E, beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin from food may decrease the frequency of chromosome damage in ionizing radiation-exposed persons, a new study reports.