We have all heard how taking aspirin can help guard one against heart attack.  Now Canadian research may suggest that men benefit more.  Read the following research brought to you in the BBC news site:

“The heart-protecting benefits of aspirin may be available mainly to men, Canadian experts have suggested.

Some research studies have suggested that the drug might cut heart attack risk by half.

But an analysis of trials involving 113,000 patients hinted those with a higher number of female participants were less likely to show benefit.

However, the BMC Medicine study was described as “potentially misleading” by one UK researcher.

Heart attacks happen when a narrowed or damaged blood vessel feeding the heart is blocked by a blood clot.

Aspirin can make it harder for these clots to form and studies suggesting this could prevent attacks, or make them less likely, have led to thousands of people worldwide taking the drug every day.

However, the precise benefit has been hard to gauge, with some research coming to the conclusion that it was unlikely to offer any protection whatsoever.

Physical differences

The researchers from the James Hogg iCapture Centre for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research, part of the University of British Columbia, believe that gender may be one of the main reasons for this.

They say that the make-up of a woman’s heart and its surrounding blood vessels may be more resistant to the effects of aspirin.

They looked at the ratio of men and women taking part in major aspirin research projects – and found that those involving predominantly men were the most likely to find a benefit.

Conversely, those involving mainly women were more likely to find a lesser benefit, or none at all.

Dr Don Sin, one of the study authors, said: “We found that a lot of the variability in these trials seems to be due to the gender ratios, supporting the theory that women may be less responsive to aspirin than men for heart protection.

“From our findings we would caution clinicians on the prescribing of aspirin to women, especially for primary prevention of heart attacks.

“Whether or not other pharmaceutical products would be more effective for women is unclear; more sex-specific studies should now be conducted.”

This is unlikely to be the last word on who should be taking aspirin – a study of 80,000 women published in March 2007 claimed to have found heart benefits for healthy women who regularly took aspirin.

Long-term aspirin use does raise the risk of internal bleeding and some doctors are reluctant to recommend it for people who have not already suffered a heart attack for this reason.

One UK expert, Dr Colin Baigent, from the Clinical Trial
Service Unit at Oxford University, said that taking aspirin in the months and years after a heart attack delivered equal benefits to men and women.

He said: “This is potentially misleading – by far the largest trial included in this research was concerned mainly with the primary prevention of heart attacks – giving aspirin to people who had never had a heart attack.

“It would be a tragedy if women who are taking it because they had already had a heart attack stop doing so.”

News Source:  BBC NEWS

In a story from the CBC News comes the bad news that the Botox chemical may spread and cause health problems.  There are other cosmetic surgery possibilities though, for those who are looking for solutions and desire to combat the loss of volume in the face.  Other possibilities include such solutions as Restylane, Perlane, etc.

“The toxin in Botox products may spread to distant parts of the body, with potentially fatal consequences, Health Canada said Tuesday in announcing new labelling information for the drugs.
Last February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the toxin had spread, both in products the agency approved and those that were not. Health Canada has been reviewing the safety of Botox and Botox Cosmetic.

No medically confirmed cases of the toxin having spread have been reported in Canada.

In its advisory, Health Canada said the symptoms of “distant toxin spread” include:

•    Muscle weakness.
•    Difficulties swallowing.
•    Pneumonia.
•    Speech disorders.
•    Breathing problems.

Botox, made by Allergan Inc. of Irvine, Calif., is approved for treating muscle spasms in the neck, eye and foot, muscle pain and excessive sweating in Canada. Botox Cosmetic, which is made by the same company, is approved to treat facial wrinkling.
The drugs use botulinum toxin, which blocks nerve impulses to muscles, causing them to relax.

People with a history of neurological disorders, swallowing difficulties or breathing problems should be extremely cautious about using the products, Health Canada said.

When the U.S. issued its warning, the FDA said the deaths were all among children. Most had cerebral palsy and were being treated for limb spasms, which is not an approved use for the drugs in the U.S. or Canada.

Health Canada has worked with Allergan to revise the labelling, and will continue to monitor the safety of Botox products, the department said. ”

News Source:  CBC News

Another good food for you?  Read the latests research on a food which can kill cancer cells from the BBC.

“A compound extracted from tangerine peel can kill certain human cancer cells, research shows.

A team from Leicester School of Pharmacy found Salvestrol Q40 was turned into a toxic compound in cancer cells, destroying them.

Salvestrol Q40 is found at higher concentrations in tangerine peel, than in the flesh of the fruit.

The researchers suggest the modern trend to throw away peel may have contributed to a rise in some cancers.

Lead researcher Dr Hoon Tan said his work was still at an early stage, but together with his colleagues he has formed a company to investigate further the potential to develop natural anti-cancer therapies.

He said: “It is very exciting to find a compound in food that can target cancers specifically.”

Plant immune system

Salvestrol 40 is a type of phytoalexin – a chemical produced by plants to repel attackers, such as insects or fungi.

It is converted into a toxic compound by the P450 CYP1B1 enzyme, found in much higher levels in cancer cells.

As a result, the researchers found, it proved to be 20 times more toxic to cancer cells than their healthy equivalents.

Dr Tan said Salvestrol was found in other fruit and vegetables, such as the brassica family, which includes broccoli and brussels sprouts.

However, the compound tends to be produced at higher levels when infection levels among crops are high.

Therefore, the use of modern pesticides and fungicides, which have cut the risk of infections, have also led to a drop in Salvestrol levels in food.

Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK’s science information manager, said: “Many naturally occurring substances have anticancer properties, but while this research shows that salvestrols have an effect on cells in the laboratory, there is no evidence that they have a similar effect in patients.

“Clinical trials would be needed to tell us if these substances could be developed into a cancer treatment.”"

Story from BBC NEWS