Vitamin D inhibits progression of some prostate cancersFebruary 09, 2006Vitamin D can inhibit the spread of prostate cancer cells by limiting the activity of two specific enzymes, University of Rochester Medical Center scientists report. The finding means that vitamin D could provide beneficial treatment to prostate cancer patients with high levels of the enzymes, the scientists said. "We wanted to know the targets of vitamin D so we would know which patients would respond better," said Yi-Fen Lee, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Urology at the Medical Center who led the research. The journal Carcinogenesis published the findings by Lee and her fellow researchers in its January issue. The research was conducted in test tubes using human prostate cancer cells lines. Research evidence increasingly has indicated that vitamin D suppresses the progression of cancer. Medical Center scientists discovered that vitamin D significantly limits the ability of prostate cancer cells to invade healthy cells by reducing the activity of two enzymes - proteases called matrix metalloproteinase and cathepsin. Vitamin D also increases the level of counterpart enzymes that inhibit matrix metalloproteinase and cathepsin, the Rochester scientists found. Vitamin D, however, had little effect on plasminogen activators, which also are important in the spread of prostate cancer. "Each individual is different so the therapy could be custom made for each person," Lee said. The vitamin D used in the study is 1,25-hydroxylvitamin D3, the most potent and active form of vitamin D in the human body. But Lee and other scientists at the Medical Center's James P. Wilmot Cancer Center do not advise taking large amounts of vitamin D without medical supervision. "This high dose has some side effects, including increasing blood calcium levels and causing kidney problems" said Edward M. Messing, M.D., chair of Urology at the Medical Center. "It should not be taken without prescription and a physician monitoring the side effects." Lee is investigating whether there are medicines or other vitamins, such as vitamin E, that could enhance the anti-cancer effects of vitamin D without increasing toxicity. "The best way to get vitamin D is to drink milk, get modest exposure to the sun, and take a vitamin pill to enrich the vitamin D, which might prevent cancer," Lee said. In addition to Lee, authors of the Carcinogenesis article include Bo-Ying Bao, a University of Rochester graduate student, and Shauh-Der Yeh of the Department of Urology at Taipei Medical University. University of Rochester Medical Center |
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| Related Vitamin D Current Events and Vitamin D News Articles Multiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic." Heart and bone damage from low vitamin D tied to declines in sex hormones Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone. New study links vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease and death While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well - and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease. Lactose intolerance rates may be significantly lower than previously believed Prevalence of lactose intolerance may be far lower than previously estimated, according to a study in the latest issue of Nutrition Today. Nation's hip fracture rate could drop 25 percent with aggressive osteoporosis prevention Aggressively managing patients at risk for osteoporosis could reduce the hip fracture rate in the United States by 25 percent, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the November issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. Neurologists Investigate Possible New Underlying Cause of MS Neurologists at the University at Buffalo are beginning a research study that could overturn the prevailing wisdom on the cause of multiple sclerosis (MS). Latest analysis confirms suboptimal vitamin D levels in millions of US children Millions of children in the United States between the ages of 1 and 11 may suffer from suboptimal levels of vitamin D, according to a large nationally representative study published in the November issue of Pediatrics, accompanied by an editorial. Women with breast cancer have low vitamin D levels Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fractures, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center. New link found between osteoporosis and coeliac disease People with coeliac disease may develop osteoporosis because their immune system attacks their bone tissue, a new study has shown. Insufficient levels of vitamin D puts elderly at increased risk of dying from heart disease A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age. More Vitamin D Current Events and Vitamin D News Articles |
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