Spinneret - Weaving the chemical web one molecule at a time...

Last week, we revealed that lycopene from the red part of tomatoes is not quite the wonder preventative in prostate cancer we had been led to believe by ketchup manufacturers and fans of the Bloody Mary cocktail. So, thankfully, clinical trials for drugs to treat this lethal form of cancer is ongoing.

Recent research by oncologist Michael Krainer of the Medical University of Vienna, and colleagues has shown that the chemotherapy drug docetaxel is the best treatment available for androgen-independent prostate cancer.

The trial compared the efficacy of docetaxel and vinorelbine and found the former to reduce the risk of disease progression by more than 50% compared with vinorelbine.

The use of chemotherapy to treat prostate cancer has rapidly grown in importance over recent years, with several comprehensive clinical trials helping to drive forward progress. In two of these trials, the chemotherapy drug docetaxel offered patients a significantly improved prognosis. However, other clinical trials indicated that the drug vinorelbine, which like docetaxel acts on cellular microtubuli, also produces impressive results and it is often used as an alternative to docetaxel. These new results offer doctors valuable support in choosing the appropriate treatment for their patients.

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It is the medical about turn of the century! Lycopene, the main red stuff found in tomatoes does not, according to the latest research, help reduce a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer. I am not sure whether I am relieved or not. On the one hand, it means all those years of guzzling vile tomato juice (even the conversion into a Bloody Mary with Worcestershire sauce and vodka really doesn’t do it for me) have perhaps all been in vain. On the other, it means I don’t have to guzzle the vile stuff any more and can now opt for a nice-tasting smoothie packed with frozen blueberries and delicious fruits rather than bitter-sweet toms.

Study data were derived from over 28,000 men enrolled in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, an ongoing, randomized National Cancer Institute trial to evaluate cancer screening methods and to investigate early markers of cancer. Results from that study have been analyzed and appear in the May issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, which conclude that lycopene, the antioxidant predominately found in tomatoes, does not effectively prevent prostate cancer.

More worryingly, Ulrike Peters and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that there is an association between beta-carotene, an antioxidant related to lycopene, and an increased risk for aggressive prostate cancer. So, all those years of excessive tomato juice drinking may actually have the opposite effect to that desired.

That said, as with all of these kinds of study, they focus on minor factors in the wider picture. Risk is all about probability and statistics, there is no real way of knowing whether years of tomato juice drinking will have benefited any individual person or had a detrimental effect. If imbibing lycopene-rich foods and drink are associated with a more health conscious approach to life and a tendency to eat fresh fruit and vegetables as opposed to processed fat and sugar, then carry on with the tomato juice regardless.

Indeed, Peters says that, “While it would be counter-productive to advise people against eating carrots and leafy vegetables, I would say to be cautious about taking beta carotene supplements, particularly at high doses, and consult a physician.”

If you really cannot stomach tomato juice, even with the vodka and Worcestershire or tabasco sauce, then opt for the blueberry smooth with skim milk instead.

InChI=1/C40H56/c1-33(2)19-13-23-37(7)27-17-31-39(9)29-15-25-35(5)21-11-12-22-36(6)26-16-30-40(10)32-18-28-38(8)24-14-20-34(3)4/h11-12,15-22,25-32H,13-14,23-24H2,1-10H3/b12-11+,25-15+,26-16+,31-17+,32- 18+,35-21+,36-22+,37-27+,38-28+,39-29+,40-30+

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Viagra could be the cure mile-high clubbers have been waiting for. Apparently, not only can the drug help men keep up appearances at any altitude, new research could lead to its extension to other areas of medicine, such as the treatment of jet lag.

Apparently, researchers in Brazil simulated jet lag in hamsters by exposing them to light out of phase with their natural body clock, giving the little beasts the feeling of having flown from Paris to New York on the red-eye day after day. The result was that the hamsters’ circadian cycle got so skewed that they would mount their wheels and run 14 hours before they should each night.

However, Diego Golombek and colleagues from the Quilmes National University in Buenos Aires, figured that a quick shot of Viagra (sildenafil citrate, sildenafil without its counter ion is shown) might work wonders for the hardy little creatures. In fact a 70 mg dose of the ED drug, reduced the jet lag recover period for the animals to just over a week, compared with the two weeks it took the Viagra-free hamsters to recover. What a relief.

Circadian clocks regulate the timing of biological functions in almost all higher organisms, say Cornell University and Dartmouth College researchers writing independently in the journal Science, this week. Anyone who has flown through several time zones knows the jet lag that can result when this timing is disrupted, they say.

Now, the Cornell and Dartmouth scientists believe they can explain the biological mechanism behind how circadian clocks sense light through a process that transfers energy from light to chemical reactions in cells. Whether or not this research tells us if you should keep your eyes closed during or after entry into the mile-high club or how to disguise why you are not suffering jet lag after a long trip is a different matter.

InChI=1/C22H30N6O4S/c1-5-7-17-19-20(27(4)25-17)22(29)24-21(23-19)16-14-15(8-9-18(16)32-6-2)33(30,31)28-12-10-26(3)11-13-28/h8-9,14H,5-7,10-13H2,1-4H3,(H,23,24,29)/f/h23H

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