In the laboratory, green tea proves a powerful medicine against severe sepsisNovember 09, 2007A major component of green tea could prove the perfect elixir for severe sepsis, an abnormal immune system response to a bacterial infection. In a new laboratory study, Haichao Wang, PhD, of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and his colleagues have been studying the therapeutic powers of dozens of Chinese herbal compounds in reversing a fatal immune response that kills 225,000 Americans every year. They found that an ingredient in green tea rescued mice from lethal sepsis - and the findings could pave the way to clinical trials in patients. The study was published this week in the Public Library of Science, or PLoS-ONE. Dr. Wang had previously discovered a late mediator of sepsis called HMGB1, a substance expressed in the late stages of lethal sepsis. They wanted to figure out a way to block this substance, which they felt would prevent the lethal sepsis process from moving forward. And it worked. Scientists worldwide have been stumped by sepsis. Even with the most advanced medical techniques available, half of those who develop sepsis die of the massive assault on the body. Several laboratories at the Feinstein Institute are working on sepsis - both on the basic biological level and in patients.
In the latest study, Dr. Wang's group gave a substance in green tea called EGCG to mice in the throes of severe sepsis. The dose was equivalent to 10 cups in a human. Survival jumped from 53 percent in those who didn't receive the green tea substance to 82 percent in those who did. "Clinically, even if we could save five percent of patients, that would be huge," said Dr. Wang. "In this study, we saved 25 percent more animals with the green tea." He said that the green tea component, EGCG, is readily available. There have been more than 100 papers focusing on this natural substance and its anti-cancer benefits. "This compound prevents HMGB1 from being released by immune cells and it also prevents it from activating immune cells to produce more cytokines," he said. Cytokines are produced by immune cells and act as weapons to defend the body against invaders. "We are hoping to stimulate future interest in clinical studies," said Dr. Wang, who worked on the study in collaboration with Wei Li, PhD, Andrew Sama, MD, chairman of emergency medicine at North Shore University Hospital, and other Feinstein investigators. North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System Science News and Science Current Events Tag Cloud This tag cloud is a visual representation of term frequencies of random science news topics with common terms grouped together and emphasized by their display size. Hygiene Motor Neurons Stem Cell Transplant Tsunami Hiv-infected Seizures Kawasaki Disease Mental Illness Caffeine Ecstasy Dinosaurs Infection Bats World Trade Center Antimatter Phosphorylation Avian Flu Virus Plastic Surgery Atherosclerosis Organic Matter Irritable Bowel Syndrome Anxiety Dengue Sea Level Blood Clots
See More: Science News Tags | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Green Tea Current Events and Green Tea News Articles Green tea may affect prostate cancer progression According to results of a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, men with prostate cancer who consumed the active compounds in green tea demonstrated a significant reduction in serum markers predictive of prostate cancer progression. Green tea extract shows promise in leukemia trials Mayo Clinic researchers are reporting positive results in early leukemia clinical trials using the chemical epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an active ingredient in green tea. Go green for healthy teeth and gums With origins dating back over 4,000 years, green tea has long been a popular beverage in Asian culture, and is increasingly gaining popularity in the United States. USC study finds that green tea blocks benefits of cancer drug Contrary to popular assumptions about the health benefits of green tea, researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have found that the widely used supplement renders a cancer drug used to treat multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma completely ineffective in treating cancer. Queen's chemist sheds light on health benefits of garlic Researchers have widely believed that the organic compound, allicin - which gives garlic its aroma and flavour - acts as the world's most powerful antioxidant. But until now it hasn't been clear how allicin works, or how it stacks up compared to more common antioxidants such as Vitamin E and coenzyme Q10, which stop the damaging effects of radicals. Moderate drinking can reduce risks of Alzheimer's dementia and cognitive decline Moderate drinkers often have lower risks of Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive loss, according to researchers who reviewed 44 studies. In more than half of the studies, published since the 1990s, moderate drinkers of wine, beer and liquor had lower dementia risks than nondrinkers. Drink brewed tea to avoid tooth erosion Today, the average size soft drink is 20 ounces and contains 17 teaspoons of sugar. More startling is that some citric acids found in fruit drinks are more erosive than hydrochloric or sulfuric acid-which is also known as battery acid. Green tea may delay onset of type 1 diabetes A powerful antioxidant in green tea may prevent or delay the onset of type 1 diabetes, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. Brainy genes, not brawn, key to success on mussel beach It's hard being a mussel: you have to worry about hungry starfish and even hungrier humans, not to mention an environment that can change your body temperature 50 degrees Fahrenheit in just a few hours. MRI spots DCIS in mice A new magnetic resonance imaging procedure can detect very early breast cancer in mice, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a precursor to invasive cancer. Some of the tumors detected were less than 300 microns in diameter, the smallest cancers ever detected by MRI. More Green Tea Current Events and Green Tea News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||