View Single Post
Old 09-11-2008, 07:48 AM
lou_lou's Avatar
lou_lou lou_lou is offline
In Remembrance
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: about 45 minutes to anywhere!
Posts: 3,086
15 yr Member
lou_lou lou_lou is offline
In Remembrance
lou_lou's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: about 45 minutes to anywhere!
Posts: 3,086
15 yr Member
Lightbulb more research

Curry powder is a mixture predominantly composed of turmeric root extract and other spices such as coriander and fenugreek.

Curcumin, a turmeric root extract, has been shown to possess activity in the treatment and prevention of cancer, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease. The molecular mechanism for its anticancer effect is largely unknown, although it is thought to inhibit the synthesis of MDM2, an oncoprotein known to bind p53 and modulate p21 expression.

In the March 1 issue of Cancer Research, Li and colleagues from the Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Alabama report on a study designed to elucidate the molecular anticancer effect of curcumin in a preclinical prostate cancer model.

Using PC-3 human prostate cancer cell lines grown in vitro, curcumin was found to decrease the mRNA and protein expression of the oncoprotein MDM2 and to enhance the expression of tumor modulator p21. This translated into an induction of apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation of PC-3 cells grown in culture.

A group of mice xenografts were also developed using the PC-3 cell-line. Curcumin was administered via an oral route to all mice (5 days per week for 4 weeks) except for the control group which only received cottonseed oil. Study groups (5 mice each) were divided as follows: (1) curcumin therapy alone, (2) gemcitabine alone intraperitoneally, (3) radiotherapy alone, and (4) control. Tumor mass was compared at the end of the study. Compared to the control, in all study groups curcumin was found to inhibit the growth of tumors in mice and to enhance the effects of both gemcitabine therapy and radiation therapy.

This well-performed study provides an elegant mechanistic explanation for the anticancer effect of curcumin, which appears to act in a p53 independent manner. These exciting data suggest that this dietary supplement should be studied in combination with traditional forms of chemotherapy or radiotherapy in tumors dependent on the MDM2 pathway.

Mao Li, Zhuo Zhang, Donald L. Hill, Hui Wang, and Ruiwen Zhang

Cancer Res. 2007 Mar 1:67(5): 1988-96.

By Ricardo Sanchez-Ortiz, MD

About UroToday

UroToday.com attracts more than 45,000 readers monthly. The website covers over 22 urology disease categories and provides the most in depth Urological conference reports available online. UroToday.com is the world leader in delivering a quality, global online publication providing accurate and timely education that is clinically relevant in the practice of Urology. All scientific content is developed by urologists committed to translating research into clinically relevant science, including all genitourinary cancers, pediatric and geriatric urological dysfunctions for urologists, medical oncologists and advanced nurse practitioners.

UroToday
1802 Fifth St.
Berkeley, CA 94710
United States
http://www.urotoday.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/68491.php

Main News Category: Cancer / Oncology

Also Appears In: Nutrition / Diet,
__________________
with much love,
lou_lou


.


.
by
.
, on Flickr
pd documentary - part 2 and 3

.


.


Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and the wrong. Sometime in your life you will have been all of these.
lou_lou is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote