Diabetes, Obesity After 60 May Drive Up Breast Cancer Risk

(HealthDay News) -- A woman's risk of developing breast cancer appears to rise if she has diabetes or is obese after age 60, a new study indicates.

Previous research has linked obesity and increased breast cancer risk, but "the diabetes link had not been clearly shown," said researcher Dr. Hakan Olsson, a professor of oncology at Lund University in Lund, Sweden.

He is scheduled to present his findings this week at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

The diabetes link held even after he accounted for obesity and levels of blood lipids, such as cholesterol. It is an association, however, not proven cause and effect.

A strength of the study, Olsson said, is that it looked at the population as a whole, not only women with breast cancer. He studied the medical records of more than 2,700 patients for up to 10 years before they developed breast cancer and also records for about 20,500 patients who never developed cancer. Read more...

Ayurtox for Body Detoxification

Productivity Takes a Hit From Obesity, Diabetes

(HealthDay News) -- Obese workers with diabetes are less productive than their normal-weight co-workers, says a U.S. study.

Researchers surveyed 7,338 working adults about missed work time, reduced work effectiveness and impairment of daily activities. The results showed that people who were obese and had type 2 diabetes lost 11 percent to 15 percent of work time (about 5.9 hours a week) because of health problems, compared with 9 percent of work time (about 3.6 hours a week) lost by normal-weight people.

The survey also found that obese people with type 2 diabetes reported impairment during 20 percent to 34 percent of their daily activities, such as taking care of children, shopping and exercising.

The findings are in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion. Read more...

Ayurtox for Body Detoxification

Green tea extract improves glucose control in borderline diabetics

The August, 2008 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the discovery of researchers in Japan that supplementing the diet with green tea extract improves fasting hemoglobin A1c, a blood marker that is regularly tested in diabetics to assess long term glucose control. Read more

Higher vitamin C levels associated with improved vascular function in type 1 diabetes

In an article published online on June 24, 2009 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Scandinavian researchers report that young type 1 diabetic patients with higher vitamin C levels have better vascular function compared to those with lower levels of the vitamin. Vascular function and structure changes can occur early in type 1 diabetes, and are associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular mortality later in life.




Petru Liuba and Michael Odermarsky of Lund University Hospital in Sweden, along with Jens Lykkesfeldt of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, recruited 33 male and 26 female diabetic patients between the ages of 10 and 22 for the current study. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT, which measures atherosclerosis), assessments of cutaneous microvascular function, cardiac depolarization and repolarization (evaluated via electrocardiogram as QT interval corrected for heart rate, which, when prolonged, is a predictor of adverse cardiovascular prognosis), lipids, and plasma C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, vitamin C and oxidized vitamin C (dehydroascorbic acid) were assessed. Continue Reading

Higher vitamin E levels in smokers linked with reduced pancreatic cancer risk

The February, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported the finding of researchers at the National Cancer Institute, the University of Michigan, and the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, Finland, of an association between higher concentrations of alpha-tocopherol (the most biologically active and plentiful form of vitamin E in most human tissues) and a lower risk of pancreatic cancer in smokers. Smoking, diabetes and obesity are among the known risk factors for this deadly form of cancer.

Rachel Z. Stolzenberg-Solomon and colleagues evaluated data from 29,092 men who participated in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study, a double-blind placebo-controlled trial which sought to determine the effect of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene supplementation on the prevention of cancers in smokers between 1985 and 1988. Over up to 19.4 years of follow-up, 318 cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed.

For participants whose serum alpha-tocopherol levels at the beginning of the study were among the top 20 percent of participants, the risk of developing pancreatic cancer was 48 percent lower than those whose levels were in the lowest fifth. Among the 27,111 subjects for whom dietary questionnaire responses were available, for those who had the highest polyunsaturated fat intake at over 9.9 grams per day there was an even greater reduction in pancreatic cancer risk observed in participants with the highest vitamin E levels, a finding that could be explained by vitamin E’s ability to counteract polyunsaturated fats’ pro-oxidant effect.

While no protective association was observed between dietary intake of vitamin E and pancreatic cancer risk in this study, the authors note that dietary intake as estimated by questionnaire responses is not precise, and that serum vitamin concentrates may be more biologically meaningful due to their reflection of the combined effects of intake, absorption and utilization as well as depletion caused by oxidative stress. “Our results support the hypothesis that higher concentrations of serum alpha-tocopherol may protect against pancreatic carcinogenesis in smokers,” they conclude. “Further research is needed to evaluate our findings in other populations, particularly relative to exposure factors that influence endogenous oxidative stress.”

Clinical trial of vitamin B1 helps reverse early kidney disease in diabetics

A report published online on December 5, 2008 in the journal Diabetologia revealed the finding of researchers at the University of Warwick in England that high doses of the B vitamin thiamin can reverse one of the signs of early kidney disease in diabetic patients.

Diabetes greatly increases the risk of kidney disease, which is detected in its early stage by testing for albumin in the urine. A high excretion rate of albumin (microalbuminuria) is indicative of diabetic nephropathy, which progressively worsens over the years.

In earlier research conducted at the University of Warwick, it was shown that individuals with type 2 diabetes are often deficient in vitamin B1. The vitamin may be needed to prevent a range of vascular problems that occur in the disease.



Naila Rabbani and Professor Paul J Thornalley of Warwick Medical School, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Punjab in Pakistan randomized 40 type 2 diabetics with microalbuminuria to receive three 100 milligram capsules of thiamine per day or a placebo for three months, followed by a two month washout period during which no treatment was administered. Urinary albumin excretion and other markers of kidney and vascular dysfunction were evaluated at the beginning and end of the treatment period. Plasma thiamin levels were also measured.Continue Reading

Vitamin D deficiency: emerging cardiovascular disease risk factor

A review published in the December 9, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology describes the involvement of deficient vitamin D levels in common risk factors for cardiovascular disease (including high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity) and in cardiovascular events.Vitamin D deficiency is estimated to affect up to half of all adults and 30 percent of children in the United States.

While the vitamin’s role in bone health has long been known, a flurry of recent studies have uncovered associations between deficient levels of the vitamin and a number of diseases, including cardiovascular disease. In their review, Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD and colleagues note that insufficient levels of vitamin D activate the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, which can lead to hypertension and thickening of the heart and blood vessel walls.

Altered hormone levels related to a deficiency of vitamin D (which is also a hormone) increase the risk of diabetes, which is a well known risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. In 15,088 subjects from the NHANES III national cohort registry, higher vitamin D levels were related to a lower risk of diabetes as well as hypertension, high triglycerides, and obesity. And among Framingham Heart Study participants who had levels of vitamin D of less than 15 nanograms per milliliter upon enrollment, the risk of subsequent cardiovascular events was twice as great as the risk experienced by those with higher levels of the vitamin. Continue Reading

Vitamin C supplementation lowers C-reactive protein levels

An article scheduled to appear in the January 1, 2008 issue of Free Radical Biology and Medicine reports the finding of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley that supplementing with vitamin C reduces C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Berkeley professor emeritus of epidemiology and public health nutrition Gladys Block and her associates randomized 396 nonsmokers to receive 1000 milligrams vitamin C, 800 international units vitamin E, or a placebo for two months. Serum C-reactive protein levels were measured before and after the treatment period. Although no effects for vitamin E were observable, and no effect for vitamin C was noted among those with desirable CRP levels, for participants with elevated C-reactive protein (defined as 1 milligram per liter or higher), vitamin C lowered CRP by 0.25 milligrams per liter compared to the placebo, a reduction similar to that associated with statin drug treatment. Continue Reading

Higher plasma vitamin C levels linked with lower diabetes risk

In the July 28, 2008 issue of the American Medical Association journal Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the University of Cambridge in England report an association between higher plasma vitamin C levels in middle-aged adults and a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The study included 21,831 healthy, nondiabetic participants in the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer-Norfolk study, which was created to examine the association between diet and cancer. Vitamin C levels were measured in plasma, and food frequency questionnaires were administered upon enrollment between 1993 and 1997. Over a twelve year follow-up period, 423 men and 312 women developed diabetes.

Analysis of the data revealed a strong protective effect of high vitamin C levels against diabetes. Participants in the top 20 percent of plasma vitamin C had a 62 percent lower adjusted risk of developing diabetes compared with those in the lowest fifth. Fruit and vegetable intake also emerged as protective. Those whose intake was in the top fifth had a 22 percent lower diabetes risk than subjects whose intake was lowest. Continue Reading

Time to take on time

To significantly reduce disease, we must slow the aging process, according to a team of experts who published their conclusion online in the British Medical Journal on July 8. In an article entitled, “New model of health promotion and disease prevention for the 21st century,” Professor S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois at Chicago and his associates suggest that the current focus on preventing and curing individual diseases will become outmoded as people in developed countries live longer and develop the multiple chronic illnesses that come with aging.
“The change in strategy we are calling for requires a systematic attack on aging itself,” they write. “Evidence in models ranging from invertebrates to mammals suggests that all living things, including humans, possess biochemical mechanisms that influence how quickly we age and that they are adjustable.” Due to a greater life expectancy in developed countries, the increased incidence of diseases related to aging has resulted in a dramatic rise in health care costs. Dr Olshansky and colleagues note that if an extended life span is combined with health, it could result in a number of economic, social, and other benefits, which they call “the longevity dividend.” They propose increased funding for studies that will increase our knowledge concerning the relationship of aging to such diseases as type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and most cancers, in addition to research into the processes that control aging itself. Continue Reading

Cocoa flavanols improve blood vessel function in diabetics

The June 3, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology published the results of a first-of-its kind study which showed that consuming cocoa flavanols improved vascular function in patients being treated for type 2 diabetes.

Vascular dysfunction occurs early in the development of cardiovascular disease, which is a common killer of diabetic individuals. Even when diabetes is medically treated and “controlled,“ vascular dysfunction often persists. In an initial study, Malte Kelm, MD, and colleagues at University Hospital RWTH Aachen in Germany gave 10 diabetic adults a drink containing 75, 371 or 963 milligrams cocoa flavanols.

Plasma flavanol metabolite levels and flow mediated dilation of the brachial artery (which assesses vascular health by evaluating the ability of the artery to relax) were monitored for several hours following flavanol administration.The researchers determined that improvements in flow mediated dilation correlated with increased flavanol dose.

A double-blinded trial was then conducted in which 41 patients undergoing medical treatment for type 2 diabetes were given a beverage containing 25 milligrams or 321 milligrams cocoa flavanols three times daily for thirty days. The beverages were matched for calories and other cocoa compounds such as caffeine. Flow-mediated dilation and flavanol metabolite levels were measured before treatment, 2 hours after the initial treatment, at 8 days, and at 30 days. Continue Reading

Vitamin E: Safe, Effective, and Heart-Healthy

Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States, and the evidence supporting vitamin E's efficacy in preventing and reversing heart disease is overwhelming.

Two landmark studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine [1][2] followed a total of 125,000 men and women health care professionals for a total of 839,000 person study-years. It was found that those who supplement with at least 100 IU of vitamin E daily reduced their risk of heart disease by 59 to 66%.

The studies were adjusted for life-style differences (smoking, physical activity, dietary fiber intake, aspirin use) in order to determine the heart effect of vitamin E supplementation alone. Because a diet high in foods containing vitamin E as compared to the average diet further showed only a slight heart-protective effect, the authors emphasized the necessity of vitamin E supplementation.

Researchers at Cambridge University [3] in England reported that patients who had been diagnosed with coronary arteriosclerosis could lower their risk of having a heart attack by 77% by supplementing with 400 IU to 800 IU per day of the natural (d-alpha tocopherol) form of vitamin E.

Pioneer vitamin E researchers and clinicians Drs. Wilfrid and Evan Shute treated some 30,000 patients over several decades and found that people in average health received maximum benefit from 800 IU of the d-alpha tocopherol form of vitamin E. Vitamin E has been proven effective in the prevention and treatment of many heart conditions. "The complete or nearly complete prevention of angina attacks is the usual and expected result of treatment with alpha tocopherol" according to Wilfrid Shute, M. D., a cardiologist. Shute prescribed up to 1,600 IU of vitamin E daily and successfully treated patients for acute coronary thrombosis, acute rheumatic fever, chronic rheumatic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, diabetes mellitus, acute and chronic nephritis, and even burns, plastic surgery and mazoplasia. Read the full story>>

Study Shows Vitamin "Pill-Poppers" Are Healthier

(OMNS November 2, 2007) New research indicates that NOT taking supplements may be harmful to your health, and that a single daily multi-vitamin is inadequate.

A study of hundreds of persons who take a number of different dietary supplements has found that the more supplements they take, the better their health is.

The study authors reported that a "greater degree of supplement use was associated with more favorable concentrations of serum homocysteine, C-reactive protein, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides, as well as lower risk of prevalent elevated blood pressure and diabetes." Supplement use results in higher levels of nutrients in the blood serum, and produces "optimal concentrations of chronic disease-related biomarkers." [1] Read the full story>>

Vitamin C and dairy linked to less abdominal weight

An increased intake of vitamin C and dairy could reduce the accumulation of weight around the abdomen, reported to increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease, suggests a new study.

Over 900 Iranian women aged between 40 and 60 years were found to have more central fat accumulation if their intakes of vitamin C, calcium, and dairy are low.

Indeed, low vitamin C intake was associated with a 131 per cent increase in probability of central fat accumulation, while low calcium increased the probability by 30 per cent.

The study, published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, looks set to continue the debate about whether dairy foods can promote weight loss, and what the mechanism behind such an effect could be.

Leila Azadbakht and Ahmad Esmaillzadeh from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences used a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to evaluate dietary intakes.

They report that the possibility of being centrally obese was increased in women with low vitamin C intakes (less than 56 milligrams), low calcium intakes (less than 398 mg), and low dairy consumption.

Others factors found to adversely affect weight around the waist were depression, smoking and menopausal state.

In terms of the mechanism or mechanisms behind the apparent benefits of the nutrients, the researchers state that both the vitamin and calcium have been reported to reduce fat absorption and may reduce abdominal adiposity.

"The mechanism by which milk consumption affects obesity indices is not accurately known. Most studies have cited calcium as a responsible factor. So, an inverse relationship has been suggested between calcium intake and body weight and body fat mass in various ways. Its simple effect is the inhibition of fat and fatty acid absorption," they stated.


"However, this is not the major cause; it seems that the major effect of calcium on body weight is mediated by its effects on controlling intracellular calcium," they added.

A previous study from Purdue University claimed that young women could burn more calories if they ate three or four dairy servings per day. However another report, also from Purdue, reported that increased dairy consumption had no effect on weight gain or loss.

On the other hand, Dr. Michael Zemel from the University of Tennessee told attendees at last year's Paris Anti-Obesity Therapies 2006 conference that dairy can help reduce body fat and that calcium only accounts for about 40 per cent of the effect.

Dairy industries in Europe and the US have been promoting milk-based products for consumers who want to slim for some time but the new findings underline that further work needs to be done to support such claims.

A diet low in dairy foods has been linked to an increased risk of accumulating fat

Indeed, the results have been welcomed by the UK-based Dairy Council. The council's director Dr. Judith Bryans said: "These results are exciting, as a number of other scientific studies have also suggested a possible link between regular consumption of low fat dairy foods and weight loss, particularly from the waist area.

"This study simply highlights the importance of a healthy lifestyle including plenty of physical and mental activity, and a diet that incorporates a good balance of all food groups, including dairy," she said.

Source: Public Health Nutrition
Doi: 10.1017/S1368980007000882
"Dietary and non-dietary determinants of central adiposity among Tehrani women"
Authors: L. Azadbakht and A. Esmaillzadeh

Magnesium May Lower Risk for Some Strokes in Male Smokers

(HealthDay News) -- Increased consumption of magnesium-rich foods such as whole grains may reduce male smokers' risk of cerebral infarction, which occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked, a new Swedish study suggests.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm analyzed the diets and other health/lifestyle habits and characteristics of 26,556 Finnish men, aged 50 to 69, who smoked but had never had a stroke. During an average of 13.6 years of follow-up, 2,702 of the men had cerebral infarctions, 383 had intracerebral hemorrhages (bleeding into the brain tissue), 196 had subarachnoid hemorrhages (bleeding between the brain and the tissues that cover it), and 84 had unspecified types of strokes.

After they adjusted for age and cardiovascular risk factors (such as diabetes and cholesterol levels), the researchers concluded that men who consumed the most magnesium (an average of 589 milligrams per day) had a 15 percent lower risk for cerebral infarction than those who consumed the least amount of magnesium (an average of 373 milligrams per day). The association was stronger in men younger than 60.

There was no association between magnesium consumption and risk for intracerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage, said the researchers, who added that calcium, potassium and sodium intake weren't associated with risk for any type of stroke.

The findings were published in the March 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"An inverse association between magnesium intake and cerebral infarction is biologically plausible," the study authors wrote. Magnesium lowers blood pressure and may also affect cholesterol concentrations and the body's use of insulin to turn glucose into energy, both of which would affect the risk for cerebral infarction, but not hemorrhage.

"Whether magnesium supplementation lowers the risk of cerebral infarction needs to be assessed in large, long-term randomized trials," the study authors added.

Recent studies have suggested that changes in diet may help reduce stroke risk, according to background information in the study. High blood pressure is a risk factor for stroke, which means that dietary changes that lower blood pressure may reduce stroke risk.

More information
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke outlines ways to prevent stroke.

HIGH DOSES OF INTRAVENOUS VITAMIN C FIGHT CANCER

Kathleen Doheny, The New York Times, Tues, Sept.13, 2005
"High doses of vitamin C administered intravenously can fight cancer -- at least in the laboratory, researchers report.

"(The study) examined the body's absorption of the nutrient and found that while oral intake does reach a saturation point, when you give doses intravenously they go through the roof in the blood and then they are cleared, said lead researcher Dr. Mark Levine (chief of the molecular and clinical nutrition section and senior staff physician, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases). According to Levine, a 10 gram dose (10,000 milligrams) of vitamin C given intravenously produces bloodstream concentrations more than 25-fold higher than concentrations achieved from the same oral dose.

"Some antibiotics are poorly absorbed when given orally but fight infections effectively when given intravenously, and Levine and his team thought that might be the case with vitamin C and cancer. Working with cell lines in the laboratory, they used high doses of vitamin C that could only be achieved by IV administration.

At the highest concentration of ascorbic acid, if given intravenously, they don't touch normal cells and they kill lots of cancer cells. We don't know why, Levine said."

(Editor’s note: Yes, this is certainly good news, although it is not really "news" to most Doctor Yourself Newsletter readers. It is rather an official confirmation, one that has, finally, gotten the attention of the media. Even FOX news picked it up. As Gomer Pyle said, "Goll-y!")

WHY THE DELAY?
Commentary by Bill Sardi
"With a growing body of evidence mounting, National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers recently conceded that intravenous vitamin C may be an effective treatment for cancer. Last year the same researchers reported a similar study but the news media failed to publish it.
"The latest study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, confirms the work of Nobel-Prize winner Linus Pauling who conducted cancer research in the 1970s with vitamin C. Dr. Pauling's studies were discredited at the time by poorly conducted research studies at the Mayo Clinic.

"NIH researchers made no mention of their earlier study in 2004 which showed that oral-dose vitamin C can achieve three times greater blood concentration than previously thought possible, a fact which negates the current Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin C. NIH researchers refuse to issue a retraction of their earlier flawed research which mistakenly claimed humans cannot benefit from high-dose oral vitamin C supplements."

More at http://www.knowledgeofhealth.com/
Also see: http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2005/09/13/cancer_intravenous_vitamin_c_effective_treatment.htm
Full citation:
Qi Chen, Michael Graham Espey , Murali C. Krishna, James B. Mitchell, Christopher P. Corpe, Garry R. Buettner, Emily Shacter, and Mark Levine. Pharmacologic ascorbic acid concentrations selectively kill cancer cells: Action as a pro-drug to deliver hydrogen peroxide to tissues. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0506390102
"Extracellular but not intracellular ascorbate mediated cell death, which occurred by apoptosis and pyknosis/necrosis . . . (T)hese data indicate that ascorbate at concentrations achieved only by i.v. administration may be a pro-drug for formation of H2O2, and that blood can be a delivery system of the pro-drug to tissues. These findings give plausibility to i.v. ascorbic acid in cancer treatment..."
This News release was provided by DOCTOR YOURSELF News (Vol. 5 , No. 13 for October, 2005)

HIGH DOSES OF INTRAVENOUS VITAMIN C FIGHT CANCER

Kathleen Doheny, The New York Times, Tues, Sept.13, 2005
"High doses of vitamin C administered intravenously can fight cancer -- at least in the laboratory, researchers report.

"(The study) examined the body's absorption of the nutrient and found that while oral intake does reach a saturation point, when you give doses intravenously they go through the roof in the blood and then they are cleared, said lead researcher Dr. Mark Levine (chief of the molecular and clinical nutrition section and senior staff physician, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases). According to Levine, a 10 gram dose (10,000 milligrams) of vitamin C given intravenously produces bloodstream concentrations more than 25-fold higher than concentrations achieved from the same oral dose.

"Some antibiotics are poorly absorbed when given orally but fight infections effectively when given intravenously, and Levine and his team thought that might be the case with vitamin C and cancer. Working with cell lines in the laboratory, they used high doses of vitamin C that could only be achieved by IV administration.

At the highest concentration of ascorbic acid, if given intravenously, they don't touch normal cells and they kill lots of cancer cells. We don't know why, Levine said."

(Editor’s note: Yes, this is certainly good news, although it is not really "news" to most Doctor Yourself Newsletter readers. It is rather an official confirmation, one that has, finally, gotten the attention of the media. Even FOX news picked it up. As Gomer Pyle said, "Goll-y!")

WHY THE DELAY?
Commentary by Bill Sardi
"With a growing body of evidence mounting, National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers recently conceded that intravenous vitamin C may be an effective treatment for cancer. Last year the same researchers reported a similar study but the news media failed to publish it.
"The latest study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, confirms the work of Nobel-Prize winner Linus Pauling who conducted cancer research in the 1970s with vitamin C. Dr. Pauling's studies were discredited at the time by poorly conducted research studies at the Mayo Clinic.

"NIH researchers made no mention of their earlier study in 2004 which showed that oral-dose vitamin C can achieve three times greater blood concentration than previously thought possible, a fact which negates the current Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin C. NIH researchers refuse to issue a retraction of their earlier flawed research which mistakenly claimed humans cannot benefit from high-dose oral vitamin C supplements."

More at http://www.knowledgeofhealth.com/
Also see: http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2005/09/13/cancer_intravenous_vitamin_c_effective_treatment.htm
Full citation:
Qi Chen, Michael Graham Espey , Murali C. Krishna, James B. Mitchell, Christopher P. Corpe, Garry R. Buettner, Emily Shacter, and Mark Levine. Pharmacologic ascorbic acid concentrations selectively kill cancer cells: Action as a pro-drug to deliver hydrogen peroxide to tissues. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0506390102

"Extracellular but not intracellular ascorbate mediated cell death, which occurred by apoptosis and pyknosis/necrosis . . . (T)hese data indicate that ascorbate at concentrations achieved only by i.v. administration may be a pro-drug for formation of H2O2, and that blood can be a delivery system of the pro-drug to tissues. These findings give plausibility to i.v. ascorbic acid in cancer treatment..."

This News release was provided by DOCTOR YOURSELF News (Vol. 5 , No. 13 for October, 2005)