Monday, August 29, 2011

Chocolate may prevent cardiometabolic disorders

BMJ 2011 Aug 29. Chocolate consumption and cardiometabolic disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis. (University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK)
  • Meta-analysis
    • 7 studies out of 4576 references
    • 114,009 participants
    • cohort or cross-sectional
  • Highest levels of chocolate consumption compared to lowest
    • 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease
    • 29% reduction in stroke
    • No significant relation with heart failure risk
  • Definitions of highest/lowest consumption groups
HighestLowest
once a week or morenever
once a weekless than once a week
more than once a weeknever
cocoa intake 4.18 g/daynone
>1 servings/daynone
chocolate 7.5 g/day1.7 g/day
>5 servings/weeknone

Monday, August 15, 2011

How caffeine prevents skin cancer

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Aug 15. Protection from UV-induced skin carcinogenesis by genetic inhibition of the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) kinase. (University of Washington, Seattle, WA)
  • We already know...
  • Here in this article,
    • Transgenic mouse with diminished ATR (Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related) activity was made to mimic caffeine effect in genetic level.
    • Those mice showed lower incidence of UV-induced skin cancer.
    • Inhibition of ATR is suggested to be the mechanism of skin cancer prevention by caffeine.