Genes affect smoking behavior, lung cancer risk

NEW YORK - Addicted to smoking and unable to quit? Your genes may be partly to blame, according to a trio of studies published Sunday in Nature Genetics that link several gene variants to a range of smoking habits, as well as increased risk for lung cancer.

Collectively, the researchers on the studies analyzed the DNA profiles of more than 140,000 people -- smokers and nonsmokers. They also studied whether genetic variants affect whether people start smoking, how much they smoke and whether they are able to quit.

In one study, researchers found that a single-letter change in the DNA code of chromosome 11 was strongly associated with taking up smoking and another on chromosome 9 was associated with quitting smoking. (Humans have 23 pair of chromosomes).

"This lends support to the idea that smoking is not just a question of will power alone, but that genetics plays a role in how much a person smokes and their ability to quit smoking," Dr. Helena Furberg from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who was involved in the research, noted in an email to Reuters Health.

"We hope that our findings will help pave the way for better treatments that will help people quit smoking," said Furberg. She emphasized, however, that more research needs to be done before the findings will benefit people directly. "At this time, getting tested for these variants will not tell you anything meaningful about your risk of smoking or ability to quit smoking," the researcher noted.

In another study, a team of researchers led by scientists at deCODE Genetics in Reykjavik, Iceland, found that smokers who carry specific gene variants on chromosome 8 and 19 smoke more -- about half a cigarette extra each day -- and run a 10 percent higher risk of getting lung cancer compared to non-carriers.

The third study confirms and refines a discovery made two years ago by deCODE scientists and others of a gene variant on chromosome 15 associated with nicotine addiction and increased risk of lung cancer.

"These are fairly common variants," deCODE chairman and senior investigator Kari Stefansson told Reuters Health.

NATURE VERSUS NURTURE

"There is debate about the relative importance of nature (genes) versus nurture (environment) in the development of common diseases," Stefansson added. Studies have shown that while environment plays a key role in whether or not someone takes up smoking, genetics plays a role in whether or not they continue to smoke and how much.

"Our research shows that there is a genetic predisposition to become addicted to nicotine," Stefansson said.

Smoking causes 9 out of 10 cases of lung cancer, but only a small proportion of smokers actually develop the disease, further evidence, researchers say, that a person's genetic makeup is a factor.

"Smoking is bad for anyone's health, Stefansson noted in a written statement. "It is even worse for some, and today's discoveries continue to strengthen our ability to identify who those people are and give them a compelling reason to quit. We plan to incorporate these (variants) into our testing products to do that."

taken from : China Daily
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Chocolate may be good medicine for liver patients

Cocoa-rich dark chocolate could be prescribed for people with liver cirrhosis in future, following the latest research to show potential health benefits of chocolate.

Spanish researchers said Thursday that eating dark chocolate capped the usual after-meal rise in abdominal blood pressure, which can reach dangerous levels in cirrhotic patients and, in severe cases, lead to blood vessel rupture.

Antioxidants called flavanols found in cocoa are believed to be the reason why chocolate is good for blood pressure because the chemicals help the smooth muscle cells of the blood vessels to relax and widen.

A study of 21 patients with end-stage liver disease found those given a meal containing 85 percent-cocoa dark chocolate had a markedly smaller rise in blood pressure in the liver, or portal hypertension, than those given white chocolate.

"This study shows a clear association between eating dark chocolate and (lower) portal hypertension and demonstrates the potential importance of improvements in the management of cirrhotic patients," said Mark Thursz, a professor of hepatology at London's Imperial College.

The results were presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Vienna and follow a number of earlier scientific studies suggesting that dark chocolate also promotes heart health.

Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver as a result of long-term damage. It is caused by various factors, including hepatitis infection and alcohol abuse.

taken from : China Daily
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Depressed? You must like chocolate

People who are depressed eat more chocolate than people who are not, U.S. researchers said on Monday, in a study that puts numbers behind the link between mood and chocolate.

They said people who were depressed ate an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate per month, compared with 5.4 servings among those who were not.

And people who had major depression based on results of a screening test ate even more -- 11.8 servings per month. A serving was considered to be one small bar, or 1 ounce (28 grams), of chocolate.

"Depressed mood was significantly related to higher chocolate consumption," Dr. Natalie Rose of the University of California, Davis, and University of California, San Diego, and colleagues wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Many people consider chocolate a mood-booster but few studies have actually confirmed the connection between the confection and mood. And most studies have looked only at women.

Rose and colleagues studied the relationship between chocolate and mood among 931 women and men who were not using antidepressants. People in the study reported how much chocolate they consumed and most also completed a food frequency questionnaire about their overall diet.

Their moods were assessed using a commonly used depression scale. What they found was a marked association between chocolate consumption and depression. And unlike other studies that looked only at women, the link was true of both men and women.

What the study could not say was why people who are depressed eat more chocolate.

It could be that depression stimulates chocolate cravings, and people eat chocolate as a sort of self treatment, confirming some studies on rats that suggest chocolate can improve mood, the authors said.

Or, it could be that depression may stimulate chocolate cravings for some other reason without providing any mood benefit. People in the study did not have any such "treatment benefit" from chocolate, the team said.

And they said it may be that eating a lot of chocolate actually causes people to feel depressed, another possible explanation for the association they saw in the study.

It may be something physiological about chocolate, such as providing additional antioxidants. Or the mood-boosting effect of chocolate could be fleeting, like the temporary euphoria from drinking alcohol, leaving people feeling even lower after the brief euphoria has passed.

"Distinguishing among these possibilities will require different study designs," the team said.

They said future studies will be needed to determine whether chocolate is a cause of depression, or a temporary salve.

taken from : China Daily
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New York men's Fashion Week?

New York may get its own menswear Fashion Week.

The city's fashion week - which is held twice a year in February and September - currently only has a small section dedicated to male clothes and there is now a campaign to expand it.

Designer John Varvatos told WWD: "I've been a member of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) for 10 years and we've been trying to figure out how to do that for 10 years. If we're going to try it, we have a better shot today than ever before, because we have a bigger design contingent."

Designers think the timing of the September shows are all wrong because it comes nearly three months after the menswear catwalks in Milan and Paris so think business could be improved.

Varvatos added: "The reality for us is the men's market opens in Milan the week of June 20, and the New York shows aren't until September."

However, some believe an entire week is too much and think two days dedicated to menswear is sufficient.

Designer Robert Geller said: "I think it would be good to reserve the first two days of fashion week just for men's wear and promote it as a separate event."

New York-based designer Thom Browne recently revealed he is relocating to Paris because he thinks it will be more beneficial for his menswear label.

He said: "When it comes down to a commercial point of view, it's important to be able to sell that early in the season. Most designers would rather have their show before selling. The selling season is so early, and the shows in Europe are in tune with it."

taken from : China Daily
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Babies do make or break marriages

A new US study shows that a miscarriage or stillbirth can significantly up divorce rates. Amy Norton reports

Studies have shown that married couples' risk of divorce can go up after the death of a child, and now new findings suggest that relationships may also become more fragile after a miscarriage or stillbirth.

In a study of more than 3,700 married or cohabitating couples in the United States, who'd had at least one pregnancy, researchers found that those who had suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth were more likely to break up in subsequent years than couples who had a baby.

Couples who had suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth are more likely to break up in subsequent years than couples who had a baby. tuweimei.com

Specifically, couples who had a miscarriage (the loss of a fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy) were 22 percent more likely than those who had a live birth to separate during the 15-year study period. With stillbirth (loss of a fetus after 20 weeks but before birth), the risk was 40 percent greater.

And while the increased risk associated with miscarriage was seen within three years of the loss, the risk linked to stillbirth persisted for nearly a decade.

The researchers say their study, published in the journal Pediatrics, is the first national study to show that couples who suffer a pregnancy loss are at increased risk of a breakup.

The findings are, however, in line with those from past studies of married couples who have lost a child. Those studies have generally found that while bereavement brings some couples closer, the general risk of divorce appears to climb after losing a child.

Given that research, the current findings are not unexpected, according to lead researcher Dr Katherine Gold, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

However, she says she was "honestly surprised" at the strength of the associations between pregnancy loss and relationship break-ups - as well as how lasting the effects, particularly of stillbirth, appeared to be.

"For miscarriage, we saw the strongest risk in the first 1.5 to 3 years after a loss, but for stillbirth the risk lasted nearly a decade after a loss," Gold says. "That's a much longer period than I think any of us who work in this area would have guessed."

However, Gold also stresses that "couples should not look at this study and think that on top of a loss their relationship is doomed." Many couples, she says, cope well and can actually become closer after a pregnancy loss.

Still, the current findings are concerning, according to Gold, and they point to a need to understand why these couples are at increased risk of breaking up.

The study included 3,707 married or cohabitating women who had a total of 7,770 pregnancies; 82 percent ended in a birth, while 16 percent ended in miscarriage and 2 percent in a stillbirth. A substantial number of relationships ended during the study period.

Among couples who had a live birth, more than 40 percent broke up within 10 years. But among couples who had a stillbirth, that figure was nearly 60 percent; meanwhile, close to half of couples who had a miscarriage broke up within a decade.

The findings do not prove that pregnancy loss is the reason for the higher rates of breakups, Gold and her colleagues point out. However, even when the researchers accounted for several other factors related to relationship dissolution - like younger age, lower incomes and cohabitation rather than marriage - miscarriage and stillbirth themselves were still associated with higher risks of breakups.

It is also plausible that pregnancy loss would lead to separation for some couples, according to Gold.

"Loss of a baby can have a devastating effect for a couple," she said, "and this study suggests there can be a ripple effect which probably comes from the stress of how two different people cope with the same event."

It is known, Gold notes, that men and women tend to react to grief differently, and that may lead to stress, misunderstandings and conflicts for some couples.

She says it is important for partners to anticipate that they may react differently to their loss, and then talk to each other about how they are coping. They should also know that help is available, the researcher adds.

"If a couple is struggling," Gold says, "it's very important that they know it's okay to get help from a counselor, a therapist, their doctor, or someone from their church."

taken from : China Daily


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Diet can sharply cut Alzheimer's risk: study

A diet rich in olive oil, nuts, fish, poultry and certain fruits and vegetables may have a powerful effect at staving off Alzheimer's disease, researchers reported on Monday.

People who ate nutrients specifically selected for brain health had a 40 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease compared with others, Yian Gu, an Alzheimer's disease researcher at Columbia University in New York and colleagues found.

"Diet is probably the easiest way to modify disease risk," said Gu, whose study appears in Archives of Neurology.

She said because there are no cures for Alzheimer's, prevention is key, especially as the population ages.

"If we follow this diet, that means the risk of getting the disease will be lowered for the population," Gu said in a telephone interview.

While other studies have looked at individual nutrients, Gu's team studied groups of foods high in nutrients that have been shown to be associated with Alzheimer's disease risk.

Some, such as saturated fatty acids in red meat and butter, need to be avoided. Others, such as omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin B12 and folate, benefit the brain.

To study this, the team collected information on the diets of 2,148 healthy people over 65 for an average of 4 years. They were checked for Alzheimer's disease every 18 months.

Of these, 253 developed Alzheimer's, which has no cure.

Those least likely to develop the disease ate more olive oil-based salad dressing, nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, fruits, and dark and green leafy vegetables and ate less red meat, organ meat or high-fat dairy products.

"People who adhered mostly to this dietary pattern compared to others have about a 40 percent reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease," Gu said.

She said the diet likely works in two ways. Because it is rich in heart-healthy foods, it may be protecting the brain from strokes that could make it more vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease.

But it also may be that the nutrients -- such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and folate -- directly protect the brain.

Current treatments helps with some symptoms, but cannot reverse the course of Alzheimer's, a mind-robbing form of dementia that affects more than 26 million people globally.

taken from : China Daily


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Calvin Klein model Lara Stone?

Lara Stone is reportedly being lined up as the new face of Calvin Klein.

The Dutch supermodel is set to sign a deal with the fashion house to front the campaigns for not only their main collection but Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein Cosmetics as well.

If reports are true, she would replace rising star Jac Jablonski, who has fronted the Calvin Klein collection for the past couple of seasons.

Although Lara has modelled for the fashion giants before, it will be seen as a huge triumph to land three campaigns.

Lara - whose UK size eight figure is deemed 'curvy' by catwalk standards - has taken the fashion world by storm and is currently the face of Prada's Infusion d'Irisfragrance scent, Louis Vuitton, Jaeger and Eres.

She has previously said she thinks her curvy figure has helped her become a success.

She said: "I'm different because I am fat. It would be nice if I wasn't the only person with t*ts and an a**e.

"If I could have the discipline to be super-skinny I would be. I think of dieting, then I eat pizza. I'm a woman, and every woman wants to be thinner - unfortunately."
taken from : China Daily


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Models at victoria's secret swim catalog 15th anniversary party

Model Candice Swanepoel arrives at the victoria's secret swim catalog 15th anniversary party in west hollywood, calif. on thursday, march 25, 2010.[CFP]

Model Alessandra Ambrosio, model Candice Swanepoel, and model Miranda Kerr arrive at the victoria's secret swim catalog 15th anniversary party in west hollywood, calif. on thursday, march 25, 2010.[CFP]

Model Candice Swanepoel arrives at the victoria's secret swim catalog 15th anniversary party in west hollywood, calif. on thursday, march 25, 2010.[CFP]

Model Miranda Kerr arrives at the victoria's secret swim catalog 15th anniversary party in west hollywood, calif. on thursday, march 25, 2010.[Agencies]

Model Miranda Kerr arrives at the victoria's secret swim catalog 15th anniversary party in west hollywood, calif. on thursday, march 25, 2010.[Agencies]

Model Alessandra Ambrosio arrives at the victoria's secret swim catalog 15th anniversary party in west hollywood, calif. on thursday, march 25, 2010.[Agencies]

Model Alessandra Ambrosio arrives at the victoria's secret swim catalog 15th anniversary party in west hollywood, calif. on thursday, march 25, 2010.[Agencies]

Model Alessandra Ambrosio arrives at the victoria's secret swim catalog 15th anniversary party in west hollywood, calif. on thursday, march 25, 2010.[Agencies]

taken from : China Daily


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