Underdeveloped countries where rice is a fundamental food staple could soon see some extra nutrients added to their crop.
A recent clinical trial confirmed that so-called “Golden Rice” converts into vitamin A after consumption, according to an article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The idea for Golden Rice was developed in the early 1990s with the goal of creating a strain of rice that contained beta-carotene, which is a precursor to vitamin A. The goal was to address the issue of vitamin A deficiency in many parts of the world where the poor live primarily off rice. People who don’t get enough of the vitamin can suffer from vision problems or even blindness.
Five healthy adults were fed specific amounts of Golden Rice. Their blood was then measured for retinol, a form of vitamin A. The results showed that four units of beta-carotene converted to one unit of vitamin A in humans. Each gram of Golden Rice contains 35 micrograms of beta-carotene.
While more testing is needed before the new rice strain can be made available commercially, developers are confident that introducing Golden Rice into the food chain will help with overall nutrition and health.
Women treated for abnormal cervical cell growth are at higher risk for a recurrence of the disease or invasive cervical cancer, according to the online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Researchers used information from the British Columbia Cancer Agency cytology database to identify 37,412 women treated for abnormal cervical cells between Jan. 1, 1986 and Dec. 31, 2000. That group was compared against 71,213 women with no previous diagnosis. Both groups were monitored until 2004.
Researchers found that the risk of abnormal cell growth and cervical cancer depended on the type of treatment the first group received, their age and the initial grade of the diagnosis, with grade three being the most severe.
The risk of invasive cervical cancer and recurrence of grade two or three abnormal cells was highest for women over 40, previously treated for grade three abnormal cell growth. Initial treatment with cryotherapy, in which the cells were frozen to stop their growth, was also a risk factor. Women who had grade two or three cells removed surgically had a lower rate of recurrence.
The research team said the study’s findings show the need for doctors to follow-up with patients after treatment, and that the type of treatment upon initial diagnosis should be taken into account.
Women aged 65 or older have an improved survival rate if their breast cancer is treated with chemotherapy in addition to surgery and/or radiation therapy, according The New England Journal of Medicine.
While the average age of breast cancer diagnosis is 63, older women have typically been underrepresented in clinical trials. A research team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied 600 women chosen through a co-operative leukemia group program. They compared a combination of chemotherapy drugs with the standard single-drug treatment in women with early-stage breast cancer aged 65 and older. The combination therapy provided significantly better treatment than a single drug treatment.
Citing patients’ preference for oral chemotherapy to intravenous treatment, the study called for the development of an effective oral agent for multi-drug treatments to help treat older women with breast cancer.
A key indicator of the aggressiveness of prostate cancer in males could be found in their urine, according to the British Journal of Cancer.
Tiny bubbles of fat known as exosomes excreted in a man’s urine carry RNA molecules that come directly from the tumour and out of the body. The RNA can be used to decipher which genes are turned on and off in a man’s cancer. While exosomes are found in the urine of people with or without cancer, some cancer cells excrete larger quantities.
Distinguishing between aggressive and dormant cancers is a challenge for researchers. To date, protein levels such as prostate specific antigens have been used to spot aggressive tumours. Invasive methods can leave men with incontinence and impotence.
By analyzing the RNA in a patient’s urine, researchers can find out which genes have “gone wrong,” which can help indicate whether the cancer is aggressive or dormant. The research team stated its hope the new approach would lead to new biomarkers for aggressive tumours.
