The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| More evidence of prostate cancer, omega-3 link Posted: 11 Jul 2013 03:30 AM PDT  Research raises new questions about the safety of supplements. Image credit: ShutterstockUS scientists said Wednesday they have confirmed a surprising 2011 study that found a higher risk of prostate cancer among men who consume omega-3 fatty acids, raising new questions about the safety of supplements.The research in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported a 71 percent higher risk for dangerous high-grade prostate cancer among men who ate fatty fish or took fish-oil supplements, which are often touted for their anti-inflammatory properties. "We've shown once again that use of nutritional supplements may be harmful," said Alan Kristal, researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and senior author of the paper. Scientists are still puzzled as to why omega-3s appear linked to a greater risk of prostate cancer, but they said the findings suggest they are somehow involved in the formation of tumors. The same team of researchers published similar findings in 2011, linking high blood concentrations of DHA to a more than double risk of high-grade prostate cancer, which is more likely to be fatal than other types. A large European study also found the same omega-3 and prostate cancer link. "The consistency of these findings suggests that these fatty acids are involved in prostate tumorigenesis and recommendations to increase long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake, in particular through supplementation, should consider its potential risks," the US study said. The difference in blood concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids between the highest and lowest risk groups was about 2.5 percentage points (3.2 percent vs. 5.7 percent), or just higher than the effect of eating salmon twice a week, Kristal said. The latest study was based on an analysis of specimens and data from a large randomized, controlled trial that tested whether selenium and vitamin E would reduce prostate cancer risk. The trial, known as SELECT (the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial), found that vitamin E raised the prostate cancer risk and selenium showed no impact either way. For the July 11 study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers analyzed the data on 834 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and compared them to a random sample of 1,393 taken from the SELECT trial. Those who had high blood concentrations of the fatty acids EPA, DPA and DHA were shown to have a 71 percent increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer. The increased risk of low grade prostate cancer was 44 percent higher in those with elevated fatty acid levels, and the combined risk was 43 percent for all prostate cancers. Due to the nature of the study, it was not possible to tell for certain whether the elevated blood levels were due to men taking supplements or eating fish rich in omega-3s. However, Franklin Lowe, associate director of the department of urology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York, said the findings should remind consumers that supplements may not help, and may even do harm. "In general, there is nothing that has been proven to actually limit the risk of prostate cancer," said Lowe, who was not involved in the study. "For the most part, doctors do not recommend this stuff because it is unclear what the true benefits are for most of the supplements that people take." - AFP/Relax, July 11, 2013. |
| Violent games don’t make us less helpful, says study Posted: 11 Jul 2013 01:31 AM PDT  A new Australian study suggests that violent video games don't make a person less caring. Image credit: ShutterstockViolent video games have been the subject of a slew of psychological studies in recent years, with scientists trying to identify just how all that animated gore might affect the human psyche - but results have been mixed. Now, a new study probes whether or not violent games make people less caring or willing to help others. While prior research has shown that violent games can lead to more aggressive, less thoughtful behavior, a new Australian study failed to replicate those results, Time magazine reports. Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia recruited 64 university students to play one of four different games for 20 minutes. Two of the games, "Grand Theft Auto" and "Call of Duty: Black Ops," were violent, while the other two, "World of Zoo" and "Portal 2," were not. After playing the games, the subjects then filled out questionnaires about their experience with the game. But when the researchers pretended to drop their pens when leaving the room, both groups of gamers were just as likely to help them pick up the pens. "This suggests that the effect of violent video games on behavior might be small and that public concern ought to be minimal," Morgan Tear, a PhD student at the university, told Time. Still other contextual factors are at play, such as whether or not the researcher was smiling, so the research doesn't draw conclusive evidence to an issue that is becoming more and more political, Time reported. What parents need to look out for is excessive gaming that begins to substitute for friendships and family time. "The real question [is] whether video games have a uniquely negative effect on those individuals compared to the many other activities and scenarios that they would routinely encounter in their daily lives," Tear says. "I suspect that video games would be one of many possible things that could affect those particularly vulnerable people but we would need good evidence to conclude that video games are any more harmful than other activities, such as playing basketball or chess." The study was published last week in the journal PLOS One. Access: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0068382 - AFP/Relax, July 10, 2013. |
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