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Gardasil
- the Cervical Cancer Vaccine?
Folate
and risk of cognitive and functional deficits
Viruses
on lunch meats
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14
May 2007
Gardasil
- the Cervical Cancer Vaccine?
How
effective is Gardasil in decreasing the incidence of cervical cancer?
100%? 50%? No one really knows because this question has not yet been
answered. As of today, the
Gardasil vaccine has never been proven to decrease the actual incidence
of cervical cancer. In the studies that led to the vaccine's
approval, the incidence of cervical cancer was not measured. Instead CIN
(cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) 2/3 and AIS (adenocarcinoma in situ)
were used as the surrogate markers for prevention of cervical cancer
because according to the vaccine's insert "CIN 2/3 and AIS are the
immediate and necessary precursors of squamous cell carcinoma and
adenocarcinoma of the cervix, respectively." While
this is true it is also true that CIN 2/3 and AIS usually do not lead to
cancer. For example, according to published data, CIN2 only leads to
invasive carcinoma 5% of the time and CIN3 only leads to invasive
carcinoma 12% of the time.
Read
the full
article.
12
April 2007
Low
serum folate increases risk of cognitive and functional deficits.
Cognitive
functioning declines and the incidence of dementia rises with advancing
age. Folate has been found to be an important nutrient for the normal
functioning of the CNS. One study investigated the association of serum
folate concentrations with cognitive and functional ability in 471
subjects aged 80 years and over. Results of this population-based study
suggest that subclinical folate deficiency is a risk factor for
cognitive decline associated with aging. In the lowest folate
percentile, subjects were found to have a 5 times greater risk for
dementia, a risk increasing to 20 times with folate concentrations lower
than the reference value.
Low
folate and the risk of cognitive and functional deficits in the very
old: the Monzino 80-plus study. J Am Coll Nutr, 2006, vol 25, no. 6, pp.
502-508.
12
March 2007
Viruses
on lunch meats
WASHINGTON
- A mix of bacteria-killing viruses can be safely sprayed on cold cuts,
hot dogs and sausages to combat common microbes that kill hundreds of
people a year, federal health officials said Friday in granting the
first-ever approval of viruses as a food additive.
The combination of six viruses is designed to be sprayed on ready-to-eat
meat and poultry products, including sliced ham and turkey, said John
Vazzana, president and chief executive officer of manufacturer
Intralytix Inc.
The special viruses called bacteriophages are meant to kill strains of
the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, the Food and Drug Administration
said in declaring it safe to use on ready-to-eat meats prior to their
packaging.
The viruses are the first to win FDA approval for use as a food
additive, said Andrew Zajac, of the regulatory agency's office of food
additive safety.
The bacterium the viruses target can cause a serious infection called
listeriosis, primarily in pregnant women, newborns and adults with
weakened immune systems. In the United States, an estimated 2,500 people
become seriously ill with listeriosis each year, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 500 die.
Luncheon meats are particularly vulnerable to Listeria since once
purchased, they typically aren't cooked or reheated, which can kill
harmful bacteria like Listeria, Zajac said.
The preparation of bacteriophages — the name is Greek for
"bacteria-eater" — attacks only strains of the Listeria
bacterium and not human or plant cells, the FDA said.
"As long as it used in accordance with the regulations, we have
concluded it's safe," Zajac said. People normally come into contact
with phages through food, water and the environment, and they are found
in our digestive tracts, the FDA said.
Consumers won't be aware that meat and poultry products have been
treated with the spray, Zajac added. The Department of Agriculture will
regulate the actual use of the product.
The viruses are grown in a preparation of the very bacteria they kill,
and then purified. The FDA had concerns that the virus preparation
potentially could contain toxic residues associated with the bacteria.
However, testing did not reveal the presence of such residues, which in
small quantities likely wouldn't cause health problems anyway, the FDA
said.
"The FDA is applying one of the toughest food-safety standards
which they have to find this is safe," said Caroline Smith DeWaal,
director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public
Interest, a consumer advocacy group. "They couldn't approve this
product if they had questions about its safety."
Intralytix, based in Baltimore, first petitioned the FDA in 2002 to
allow the viruses to be used as a food additive. It has since licensed
the product to a multinational company, which intends to market it
worldwide, said Intralytix president Vazzana. He declined to name the
company but said he expected it to announce its plans within weeks or
months.
Intralytix also plans to seek FDA approval for another bacteriophage
product to kill E. coli bacteria on beef before it is ground, Vazzana
said.
Scientists have long studied bacteriophages as a bacteria-fighting
alternative to antibiotics.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060818/ap_on_he_me/edible_viruses
Now
we have the ultimate - something to kill off the last poor remaining
good bacteria in our guts that have managed to survive the onslaught of
antibiotics!!!
For
advice or to book a consultation, call
(03) 8802 7687 or email
me. |
