Schizophrenia linked to childhood trauma

Researchers at Liverpool University have found that children who have experienced severe childhood trauma are THREE times more likely to develop schizophrenia. The study examined over 30 years of research findings with an overview of 27,000 research papers. The study found a relationship between the level of trauma and the likelihood of developing illness in later life - those that were severely traumatised as children were at a greater risk, in some cases up to 50 times increased risk, than those who experienced trauma to a lesser extent.

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Members of European Parliament set up a new CAM Special Interest Group

The newly formed special interest group on Complementary and Alternative Medicine held its first meeting in November 2011 to discuss the future of herbal, homeopathic and androposophic medicine in the EU. A full report of this meeting is available here. 

This group, together another European Parliament interest group called MEPs Against Cancer, held a roundtable in March this year to show their active support for the integration of CAM practices into Europe’s healthcare services, particularly for the care and treatment of cancer patients. This is really good news. I’ll keep you posted on developments. 

Fungal infection mimics cancer symptoms

This article has just been published in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases by researchers based at the Mayo Clinic, Arizona. 

“A small percentage of people who think they have cancer may instead have a fungal infection.  The fungus – which people can contract from eating infected food – mimics the symptoms of abdominal cancer, including pains and masses under the surface of the skin that are mistaken for tumours. The fungus – Basidiobolus ranarum – was first reported in 1986, and has been detected in many countries around the world.  It is found in soil, decaying organic matter and in the gastrointestinal tracts of fish, reptiles, amphibians and bats. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic studied 44 cases, including 17 from Arizona, although nobody knows how many people have been infected – or the percentage of those who have been wrongly treated for cancer.  Eight of the cases reviewed died from the infection. All of the cases were initially diagnosed as abdominal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease before doctors realised they were dealing with a fungal infection.  The cases were treated with surgery or antifungal drugs. The Mayo researchers say that very little is known about the fungus, or whether some people are predisposed to infection, possibly through an existing condition”. Excerpt from the WDDTY newsletter published 19th April 2012.

Oregon Centre for Integrative Medicine

I’ve just come across another great Centre that brings together the wisdom of conventional medicine and other modalities considered to be alternative medicine. The Oregon Centre for Integrative Medicine is run by Jan Radzik MD who has been in medical practice for over 25 years, and utilises botanical medicine, vitamin therapy and nutritional interventions in his practice as a family doctor.

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The effects of stress on the brain (NOTE: for medical students!)

The American Institute of Stress has estimated 85-90% of visits to a primary care doctor is as a result of stress or stress-related disorder. In this video Rollin McCraty PhD of the Institute of Heartmath discusses the relationship between stress and brain function.

New web resource for research on cancer support

I’ve just come across a fantastic website which I think any one interested in research ought to look up. It’s called GreenMedInfo.com and is sponsored by the likes of Dr Mercola, a leading physician in the United States.

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The Oaxaca Project - Giving Hope to Kids with Cancer

This is a beautiful story of using a technique called EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) to help children with cancer in a hospital ward in Oaxaca, Mexico. If you want more information about the project you can go to http://www.oaxacaproject.com.

Eating 7 walnuts a day could reduce your risk of breast cancer

Researchers from Marshall University have recently reported that small amounts of walnuts eaten daily can significantly lower the risk of breast cancer in women. Unfortunately the research is, in my opinion, highly unethical as it involved using laboratory mice. However, the results remain that a small amount of walnut in the diet slowed the development and reduced the multiplicity of mammary gland cancers. Dr Hardman, the lead researcher states, “These reductions are particularly important when you consider that the mice were genetically programmed to develop cancer at a high rate… we were able to reduce the risk for cancer even in the presence of a preexisting genetic mutation.”

Walnuts are a great source of omega-3 fats, minerals, vitamins and protein. A handful of walnuts every day is all you need to benefit from its preventative effect. Previous studies have shown the benefits of walnuts in reducing blood pressure.

Citation: Hardman, WE, Ion, G, Akinsete JA and Witte, TR (2011) ‘Walnut Suppressed Mammary Gland Tumorigenesis in the C(3)1 TAg Mouse’ Nutrition and Cancer Aug-Sep 63(6):960-70. 

Available online http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01635581.2011.589959#tabModule

Worldwide cancer rates could be cut by 2.8 million with healthier lifestyles

The World Cancer Research Fund has today published a comprehensive report on Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective as well as a companion report, Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention. According to this report, around 2.8 million cancers worldwide could be prevented if people adopted healthier lifestyles and better diets. You can access the full report here.

Integrative Hospital Care in Boston, Massachusettes

The more I look, the more I find examples of Integrative Cancer Care in the US. By integrative I mean using complementary medicine alongside conventional treatments (such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery). These therapies are part of the whole package of care offered to patients to minimise symptoms and side-effects, to improve the patient experience and to improve the chances of recovery. 

One such example is at the Zakim Centre for Integrative Therapies at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

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